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Ammon News - AMMAN - The Danish government has decided to close its embassies in Jordan, Algeria, Bosnia and Nicaragua due to budgetary cuts, according to the top Danish diplomat in the Kingdom.

The Amman embassy will shut its doors on September 1, Danish Ambassador to Jordan Thomas Fouad Lund-Sorensen said on Thursday.

“The decision [to close the Amman embassy] is final and regrettable. I am sad that I have to leave Jordan on this note,” the ambassador told The Jordan Times over the phone yesterday.

Official diplomatic ties between Jordan and Denmark were established in 1958, and the Danish embassy in Amman was opened in 2007, according to the Danish ambassador.

The Danish presence in Jordan goes as far back as the 1920s when Danish archaeologists worked alongside their Jordanian colleagues at Mount Nebo.

Jordan does not have an embassy in Denmark, but is represented by a consulate, according to the diplomat, who added that Jordan’s embassy in Berlin handles the Kingdom’s affairs in Denmark.

The ambassador said the closure will affect Jordanian-Danish relations, but stressed that the Danish government is keen on limiting the impact as much as possible.

“Denmark is committed to deepening its relations with Jordan and the closure of the embassy does not mean that the partnership programme that started in 2005 will be abandoned,” he said.

Regarding Danish representation in Jordan after the embassy closure, Lund-Sorensen said “it is too early to tell… as no decision has been taken yet”.

In November 2008, a project fully funded by the Danish government was launched to strengthen the professional capacity of law enforcement institutions to prevent torture and ill-treatment and respond appropriately and effectively when such acts occur.

The two-year project, dubbed “Karama”, seeks to ensure that torture and ill-treatment are documented, prosecuted and redressed in accordance with international legal standards.

Denmark has also assisted Jordan in drawing up the law on the Ombudsman Bureau, an independent organisation established in April 2008, to review complaints lodged against any official decision or procedure.

(Jordan Times/ By Muhammad Ghazal)