‘Canada committed to providing JD118m in aid to Jordan over 3 years’

AMMAN — Jordanian and Canadian ministers met in Amman on Sunday to discuss development priorities and the expansion of economic cooperation.

Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Imad Fakhoury received Canada’s Minister for International Cooperation and la Francophonie Marie-Claude Bibeau during her visit to the Kingdom. 

Fakhoury expressed his appreciation of the Canadian government for a recent 10 million Canadian dollar (JD 5.4 million) grant focusing on the education sector, as one example of international assistance to the Kingdom as it deals with the strain of hosting a large refugee population, according to a statement released by the ministry. 

The minister said Jordan has now reached the maximum limit for absorbing Syrian refugees, and urged the international community to maintain its support so that the Kingdom can continue providing services to refugees and host communities. 

Jordan is currently home to over 1.3 million Syrians, according to the latest population census. A total of 656,170 Syrians are registered with the UNHCR as refugees in the Kingdom.

Bibeau spoke of the strong links between Jordan and Canada, and her country’s desire to expand cooperation with Jordan, which she said is an example to the Middle East and the wider world due to its efforts to maintain stability and increase development. 

The Canadian minister also stressed Jordan’s prominent role in Canada’s strategy of foreign development assistance, saying that the North American country has committed to providing the Kingdom with 220 million Canadian dollars (around JD188.8 million) over the next three years.