Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - Planning and International Cooperation Minister, Imad Fakhoury, on Wednesday, urged the international community to support the Jordan Response Plan to the Syrian crisis 2018-2020, and securing sufficient grants and concessional financing to deal with the requirements of the general budget over the next three year.

The minister gave his remarks during a meeting with Norway's Ambassador to Jordan, Tone Allers, and ambassadors of donor countries, representatives of international organizations and international commissions that are working in Jordan, within a joint international mission that seeks assessing mechanisms of financial support to underprivileged Jordanians and Syrian refugees, a Planning Ministry statement said.

Fakhoury highlighted the importance of the international support that was provided to Jordan, describing it as essential for the Kingdom to continue providing humanitarian and development aid to the Syrian refugees and their host communities.

He described the financial support as the most effective means for the refugee to cover the expenses of his main needs such as housing, healthcare, and education, which would mitigate the burden on Jordan and maximize the benefit of the Jordanian economy.

During the meeting, Fakhoury urged donors to provide the necessary funding continuously and regularly for the target groups, stressing the need for periodic review of the eligibility criteria of this support and targeting all underprivileged groups without discrimination, and continued coordination with the relevant bodies, in addition to developing the necessary databases to be adopted as a unified source of distribution of support to ensure effective delivering it to eligible groups more.

The planning minister outlined the current economic challenges facing the Kingdom due to the regional situation, including the burdens of hosting large numbers of Syrian refugees, noting the Jordanian approach in dealing with these challenges.

He pointed out that Jordan was proactive in devising funding mechanisms that contribute to providing humanitarian support to refugees, and introducing iris scan system for refugees' registration with focusing on information technology in providing assistance.

The mission comprises representatives of Germany, Australia, Canada, Norway, Switzerland, the UK, the US, and the EU.