Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi has called for the continuation of support for Syrian refugees residing on its territory, amid the economic conditions faced by the country, to ensure a “decent” life for them.
According to the official website of the Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, al-Safadi discussed in a phone call with the European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, Oliver Varhelyi, on Tuesday, April 16, the support provided by the European Union to Jordan, in order to help it cope with the consequences of regional crises and enhance the developmental process and the situation of Syrian refugees in Jordan.
The Jordanian channel Al-Mamlaka reported that al-Safadi reviewed the financial and economic difficulties faced by Jordan, resulting from regional crises, especially the “Syrian crisis” and the current Israeli war on Gaza.
The Jordanian minister spoke of the importance of a package of aid amounting to over 900 million euros in November 2023.
The latest data published by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in the current April indicates that there are more than 638,000 registered Syrian refugees in Jordan.
Despite al-Safadi’s talk about the importance of the support provided for the Syrian refugees in Jordan, the Jordanian Interior Minister, Mazen al-Faraya, spoke in mid-2023 about the fact that the financial support provided as part of the Jordanian response plan to the Syrian crisis amounts to 7.5% of the required funding for the first half of the same year.
The Syrians in Jordan suffer tightened restrictions on their lives, particularly with the reduction of aid provided by the World Food Programme (WFP), and Amman’s announcement banning certain skilled professions for non-Jordanians, including male barbering, confectionery and pastry factories, carpentry, blacksmithing, embroidery, goldsmithing, water bottling, nut production and coffee roasting, and ceramic and pottery products, as well as laundry and ironing services.
The poverty rate among Syrian refugees in Jordan reached 66%, according to a survey conducted by the UNHCR in Jordan at the beginning of last year.
Jordan includes the Syrian refugee file among its priorities in its meetings and political speeches related to the Syrian file, aiming to return them to Syria “voluntarily,” as reiterated by Jordanian officials.
In mid-February 2023, the Jordanian Foreign Minister, Ayman al-Safadi, visited the Syrian capital for the first time since the outbreak of the Syrian revolution in 2011, meeting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad, clarifying that his visit was a stage to discuss bilateral relations.
At that time, al-Safadi discussed the efforts made to reach a political solution, and the conditions that allow for the voluntary return of refugees, and the ridding of Syria from “terrorism.”