Today, during his first visit to Jordan as Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Tánaiste Simon Coveney, announced additional funding to support Syrian refugees and their hosts in Jordan, and visited Za’atari Refugee Camp. The Tánaiste also met, this afternoon, with the Jordanian Foreign Minister, Ayman Al Safadi.
Speaking on the announcement of additional funding, the Tánaiste said,
I am delighted to announce a further €1.25 million in aid to Syrian refugees in Jordan. It is crucial that we continue to help the victims of the conflict as well as the communities who host them. Consequently, I am providing funding of €750,000 to support UNHCR’s Jordan operations and €500,000 for UNICEF’s education response in Jordan. This support is critical in meeting the educational needs of young people who have been so deeply affected by the crisis.
During the visit the Tánaiste travelled to Za’atari Refugee Camp in northern Jordan to observe the conditions in which refugees live, meet a refugee family and to see the work of agencies receiving support from Ireland.
The Tánaiste continued,
I am very glad to have had the opportunity to witness the valuable work that is being done to help refugees at Za’atari camp. This underlines the generosity of the Jordanian government and its people. Ireland has provided assistance of over €100 million to the Syria crisis to date. This signals our deep solidarity with the Syrian people and all those affected by the crisis across the region. The further support provided to Jordan underscores our commitment to ensuring our humanitarian assistance reaches both Syrian refugees and the most vulnerable in host countries, who have shouldered the impact of this crisis for many years.
This afternoon, the Tánaiste met with the Jordanian Foreign Minister in Amman.
Speaking after his meeting with Foreign Minister Ayman Al Safadi, the Tánaiste said,
I was glad to have the opportunity to meet again with Minister Safadi, and to have time for an in-depth discussion of the many issues on our joint agenda. Ireland has always had a good bilateral relationship with Jordan, and the opening of the new Irish Embassy in Amman early next year will build further on those ties.
The Tánaiste continued,
We discussed a broad range of issues during our meeting including trade, the opening of the new Embassy, and recent developments in the Middle East. I was particularly interested in Minister Safadi’s perspective on regional issues, particularly the conflict in Syria and the Middle East Peace Process, given the pivotal role that Jordan plays in the region. I look forward now to my visit to Israel and Palestine and Cyprus in the coming days, when I will continue discussions on some of these issues.
During the visit, the Tánaiste also met with leaders in the business community in Jordan.