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Ammon News -

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Ayman Safadi called for providing the required financial support to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) to enable it to continue providing its vital services to refugees, especially in these circumstances in which its responsibilities to confront the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic have increased.

Safadi gave his remarks in a meeting held Saturday with UNRWA Commissioner-General, Philippe Lazzarini, on discussing efforts and consultations with international partners to provide the necessary financial support to fill the severe financial deficit facing the UN Agency.

Safadi and Lazzarini highlighted preparations for the international conference to mobilize support for the UNRWA, which the Kingdom and Sweden are working on holding next year. This conference was approved by the Stockholm Group during its strategic dialogue.

In joint press statements after the meeting, Safadi said that the meeting came within the framework of continuous coordination between partners in order to preserve the agency and its ability to carry out its vital duties and tasks towards Palestinian refugees in accordance with its UN mandate that was renewed by the international community in an unprecedented way during the vote in the United Nations General Assembly in December 2019.

He added that talks with Lazzarini focused on two parts, the first is how to deal with the agency's current financial crisis, which is a major crisis and has serious repercussions on service recipients in the agency’s five work regions in difficult circumstances in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, which already calls for providing even greater financial support to enable the agency to carry out its main and vital tasks.

In turn, the UNRWA Commissioner-General expressed appreciation for Jordan's continued and ongoing efforts to provide international financial and political support to the Agency.

"The agency's financial situation is critical and it is in need of urgent financial support, as it is currently suffering an unprecedented deficit and a large increase in needs in light of many crises in the region, especially in light of the coronavirus pandemic and its health and economic impacts, and the increase poverty in many areas, and thus the increasing dependence on agency's services," Lazzarini said.

He emphasized the need to reflect the agency’s political support by providing the required financial resources to carry out its duties.

Safadi and Lazarini agreed to continue coordination and consultation on ways to mobilize the necessary international support to enable the UNRWA to continue providing its vital services according to its UN mandate.