The Senate’s Jordanian Friendship Committee with the European Parliament, headed by Nidal Qattamin, met on Wednesday, with the EU Ambassador to Jordan Maria Hadjitheodosiou.
Speaking at the meeting, Qattamin valued His Majesty King Abdullah II’s role in strengthening partnership and consolidating common stances with the EU countries, especially with regard to the Palestinian cause and the need to adopt the two-state solution as a comprehensive and just solution that achieves security and stability.
Qattamin also pointed to the importance of the EU support to mitigate impact of Syrian refugee waves on Jordan in many vital sectors, foremost are education and health, which “negatively” increase unemployment rates, as Syrian workers replace Jordanians in the labor market.
Qattamin stressed the need to support development projects, foremost in the tourism field, given Jordan’s position at the heart of the tourism world due to its “rich” cultural history and “remarkable” importance for all monotheistic religions.
To improve Jordan’s infrastructure, he stressed the need to benefit from the EU expertise in the field of road planning and security due to its significant impact on tourism and the economy.
Hadjitheodosiou, for her part, expressed gratitude for the King’s role in consolidating joint cooperation globally, and his “firm” stance towards the Palestinian cause and the need for a two-state solution to ensure security and stability in the region, which is adopted and supported by the EU, as the bloc’s support for UNRWA “did not stop emanating from its belief the organization is a real supporter to the Palestinian people.”
The European Union, she said, will continue to provide support to the Kingdom, adding that financial support provided “will not be lesser, compared to previous years.”
The EU is currently in the process of renewing the assistance agreement for the next seven years targeting Jordan’s partnership projects that the government has prioritized to work in the economic sectors and support stability, democracy and human rights, according to Hadjitheodosiou.
The EU, she said, provided nearly 350 million euros to the Ministry of Health to combat the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and purchase the necessary vaccines, as Jordan was one of the first countries in the region to provide vaccines and start immunizing citizens and refugees alike.
The committee’s members praised the EU role in supporting Jordan’s various projects, especially in relation to the rule of law and judicial independence fields.
In this regard, the senatoors stressed the need to direct support to projects to empower and train judges and prosecutors to “best” benefit from the European experience in this field.
They also underlined the need to work with the EU delegation’s concerned authorities to provide the necessary technical support to the private sector and civil society institutions to achieve the “best” benefit from the EU financial support.
Source: Jordan News Agency