Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, Imad Fakhoury, announced an agreement with donor countries to hold the Brussels II Conference in the spring of 2018 to ensure continued efforts to mobilize funding to support host countries on an annual basis and to follow up the work progress.

The minister made the announcement in a speech at a workshop held in the Dead Sea for sectoral teams representing the twelve sectors covered by the Jordan Response Plan (JRP) to the Syrian crisis, in order to coordinate cooperation among members, set targets for each sector, prepare summaries sheets of projects, as well as updating the JRP to cover the years 2018-2020.

He said the responsibility of confronting the Syrian crisis and its repercussions is an international duty that requires a real and clear commitment for many years by donor countries and international institutions.

He added that Jordan is carrying out this humanitarian mission on behalf of the international community. Therefore, what is provided to Jordan is not grants, but a repayment, Jordan has earned for its services, support, depletion of its natural resources and other additional burdens.

He pointed out that the Jordanian delegation, which returned from the UN General Assembly stressed the need for the international community to complete the implementation of its commitments for 2017 before the end of the year.

Fakhoury stressed the Jordanian government's keenness on full partnership with the international community in all its institutions and sectors to identify priorities to address the Syrian crisis and alleviate the burdens borne by Jordan.

He noted that His Royal Highness Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II's speech at the UN General Assembly has clearly identified details of the Syrian crisis effects on Jordan and its economy in particular. It also touched on the Jordanian model in dealing with the refugee crisis and the international community's responsibility in this regard.

The minister said the Syrian Crisis Information System (JORISS) was established with the aim of institutionalizing the work and achieving it with the highest degree of efficiency and transparency. It was also developed to include a system for tracking the funding and uploading completion and follow-up reports.

With regard to funding levels, especially last year "despite their improvement," Fakhoury said there was a 38 percent gap in 2016, as 62 percent of the needs included in the JRP in 2016 were covered, compared with 30 percent in previous years.

The planning minister underlined the importance of equitable distribution of obligations between countries, as Jordan bears the effects of the plan's funding deficit, as well as the indirect effects of $3.1 to $3.5 billion annually, according to a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) study.

UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Jordan, Anders Pedersen, commended the Jordanian model in preparing the JRP by linking humanitarian needs and interventions that will enable host communities to improve the level of services in their areas.

He said the United Nations organizations are committed to the optimal use of national systems and capacities, support national priorities and ensure the effectiveness of assistance especially to host communities.

Head of Cooperation at the European Union (EU) delegation to Jordan, Ibrahim Laafia, emphasized the bloc's support to the Kingdom, calling for donor countries to fulfill their commitments toward Jordan.