Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - Planning and International Cooperation Minister Imad Fakhoury has took part in high-level meetings and activities as within Jordan's participation in the UN General Assembly, a ministry statement said on Monday.

Among the activities is the ministerial meeting hosted by the EU in New York and co-chaired by High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Staillianides, UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura, Commissioner of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi and a number of ministers who represent the co-presidency of Brussels Conference, in addition to ministers from Syrian refugees host countries.

The Planning Minister noted that the meeting came upon request made by Jordan to sustain the momentum of action including the international community's commitments made during London Conference on Syria in 2016 and Brussels Conference last April.

Fakhoury said that the meeting aimed to review means of sustaining response to the humanitarian needs in Syria, addressing the needs of Syria refugees and host communities, enhancing the resilience of host countries, and realizing stability across Syria through de-escalation zones.

He added that the EU, UN and Brussels Conference's organizing countries stressed the importance fulfilling the international community's commitments and transforming them into real support, given that the finance of the Jordan Response Plan (JRP) has not exceeded 39 per cent.

The minister called on fulfilling the commitments of 2017.

He said that Brussels Conference 2 will be held in the spring of 2018 to ensure the continuity of supporting the Syrian refugees host countries.

Fakhoury noted that during Brussels 1, the international community committed to providing technical support to help Jordan benefit from simplifying the rules of origin for Jordanian products in the EU markets, working with the Jordanian government to attract more investments and increase exports providing financial and technical support to support the economic growth, increasing employment for woman and young people, and support the implementation of the Human Resources Development Strategy.

The minister expressed Jordan's appreciation for support of the international community, noting that Jordan hosts 13 per cent of the world's UNCHR registered refugees in addition to hundreds of thousands of unregistered Syrian refugees.

Jordan is the largest refugees host in the world per capita with a direct hosting cost that reaches $2 billion yearly, which accounts for 5 per cent of the GDP and 20 per cent of domestic revenues, said the minister.

Despite of preserving its resilience, Jordan is facing several challenges such as the in economic growth rate, the increase of the public debt, and hike in joblessness rate, which altogether affects all aspects of life including public services.

He added that Jordan has become a role model in addressing the Syrian refugee crisis and shouldering the burden, which is a universal affair, on behalf of the international community.

He stressed that the host countries including Jordan are the largest donor countries, noting Jordan's commitment to the Jordan Compact and the Jordan Outcome Document adopted during Brussels Conference.

Deputizing for Prime Minister Hani Mulki, the Planning Minister took part in a high-level panel on water that was co-chaired by UN Secretary General Ant?nio Guterres and the World Bank President Jim Yong Kim and the participation of PMs of Mauritius, Hungary, South Africa, Tajikistan, Bangladesh, the Netherlands, Australia, Jordan, Senegal, Mexico and Peru.

The panel aimed to provide advisory and instructions on the management and improvement of water resources, in addition to improving the relevant services such financing, drafting plans for initiatives related to global warming and mitigating the repercussions of natural disasters.

During the panel, Fakhoury outlined the continued pressure on Jordan to sustain the water resources and the impact of the massive influx of Syrian refugees into the Kingdom.

The minister also attended the meeting of the International Commission on Forced Displacement, held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York as a member of the Commission.

Fakhoury said that Jordan was involved in the Commission as a model at the global and regional levels in dealing with the Syrian refugee crisis with the recognition by the world of this role for Jordan.

The Planning Minister also participated, as a main speaker, in two round-table sessions that were held by the World Economic Forum for the first time on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

The first session focused on accelerating financing for development, especially those aimed at achieving the objectives of sustainable development, while the second session discussed the issue of running the digital development agenda.

The two seminars represented an opportunity for the participating donors to maximize their support to Jordan, attract major companies to invest in the Kingdom and to make Jordan a gateway for reconstruction and business in the region.

The Minister of Planning also participated in a high-level symposium organized by the World Development Center, with the participation of ministers and senior officials from Denmark, France, Moldova and the UN Development Programme.

The meeting focused on global refugees crises by bridging the gap between the humanitarian response to the refugee crisis and development support.

The Jordanian experience in dealing with the Syrian refugee crisis was presented by adopting the principle of enhancing resilience by linking short-term humanitarian assistance with medium-term development programs Jordanian Response.

Fakhoury also joined a high level meeting on transparent government partnership, co-chaired by the Presidents of Georgia and France.

Jordan is working on the implementation of the Third Action Plan on Transparent Government Partnership, developed through a participatory approach with civil society organizations.

During his meetings with ministers from several countries including Canada, UK, the Netherlands, and Finland, Fakhoury discussed support provided by those countries for 2017 to finance the JRP, the public budget and the development projects.

The minister outlined the economic situation in the Kingdom and the challenges generated by hosting the Syrian refugees.

He thanked the countries and organizations for their support to Jordan.