ASEZA Chairman, UNRWA Director Discuss Palestinian Refugee Support EffortsDeputy Minister of Water discusses partnership mechanism with UNICEF in implementing priority projects

Aqaba: Nayef Fayez, Chairman of the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA), engaged in discussions with Olaf Becker, Director of Operations at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), regarding the agency's endeavors to assist Palestinian refugees. Fayez commended the agency's dedication to delivering essential services to refugees in Jordan, emphasizing its ongoing initiatives aimed at enhancing education, healthcare, and other critical services vital to the beneficiaries of its programs. During the meeting, Becker expressed gratitude for the ASEZA's efforts in providing fundamental services through the assistance programs administered by the Commission to the intended recipients. He underscored the significance of collaboration among the agency, the government, and ASEZA in executing projects geared towards enhancing the educational sector, schools, and healthcare facilities. Furthermore, Becker emphasized the necessity for donor countries to resume their support to UNRWA following a review of the procedures that led to the suspension of their aid. This support is crucial for UNRWA to continue its essential operations, particularly in Jordan, which hosts the largest population of Palestinian refugees, as well as in other countries accommodating Palestinian refugees. Source: Jordan News Agency A meeting in Sana'a, on Tuesday, headed by the Deputy Minister of Water and Environment, Hanin Al-Duraib, and including the head of the Water and Environmental Sanitation Department at UNICEF, Peter Harvey, discussed the partnership mechanism between the ministry and the organization in implementing water and environmental sanitation projects. The meeting, which was attended by the head of the General Authority for Rural Water Projects, Adel Saleh Bader, the directors of the urban cities projects units, Mohammed Al-Shami, the emergency department, Abdul Karim Al-Akhram, and the national coordinator of the water and environmental sanitation cluster, Tawfiq Al-Haroush, reviewed the priority projects within UNICEF's plan for the year 2024 AD. He touched on what was agreed upon in the last meeting with UNICEF Resident Representative in Yemen, Peter Hawkins, regarding the emergency unit's exceptions to the recent commitments resolution and the continuation of periodic meetings to study and follow up on the proj ects being implemented and address the difficulties of stalled projects. The attendees discussed the projects approved within the plan and the reasons for their failure to implement them, including pumping and geophysical device testing projects, and what was reached regarding operating water projects with wind energy, and the emphasis on accelerating the procedures for testing their operation, as one of the alternatives to using diesel. The meeting stressed the need to resume UNICEF's support for the Capacity Building Project in Community Justice - Phase Two, networking and accelerating the procedures for completing the second phase of evaluating the remaining institutions and branches of the safe withdrawal from fuel, as well as UNICEF's commitments to keep pace with the existing needs to implement the units' activities. In the meeting; The Deputy Minister of Water and Environment welcomed the Head of the Water and Environmental Sanitation Department, Peter Harvey, succeeding George Tabbal, stressing the need for UNICEF to play its role in implementing water and environmental sanitation projects, which alleviates the suffering of the Yemenis in light of the repercussions of the American-British-Saudi-Emirati aggression and blockade on Yemen. He stressed the need to set a timetable for the UNICEF team to visit the regions, units and governorates, review the needs of water and sanitation projects, and learn about the successes achieved in implementing the projects in accordance with the work mechanism and partnership between the ministry and the organization. Source: Yemen News Agency