Jordanian PM Bisher Khasawneh joins conference on development and migration in Rome

Jordan: The Prime Minister of Jordan, Bisher Khasawneh, recently participated in the “International Conference on Development and Migration” organized by the Italian Government at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters in Rome on Sunday. Prime Minister took part in the conference on behalf of King Abdullah II.

The Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni asked Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh to meet his speech at the conference to convey her greetings to King Abdullah II and her appreciation for the friendship relationships that unite the two countries attitudes that support security and stability in the region.

At the beginning of his speech, the Prime Minister conveyed the greetings of King Abdullah II to the Italian Prime Minister, the presidents and members of the delegations participating in the conference and wishes for the conference’s success and recommendations and decisions that contribute to alleviating the effects of immigration and asylum on host countries.

The Prime Minister said that Jordan, the largest refugee host country in the world compared to its population, continues to provide basic services to Syrian refugees, the same benefits it offers its citizens.

Furthermore, PM Bisher Al Khasawneh called on Jordan to host more than 1.3 million Syrians, of whom only 10 per cent life in refugee camps. 

It is certain that, despite the economic stresses caused by the Corona pandemic and the Ukrainian crisis, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan was able to provide a generous life for refugees.

Al-Khasawneh confirmed the necessity of continuing to unite the efforts of the international community to address the effects of the refugee and migrant crises affecting our regions. 

“I would like to say that Jordan was able to provide a dignified life to refugees and provide services to them when the concept of sharing burdens between host countries and the rest of the international community was applied to sufficient limits”, said the PM.

The Prime Minister pointed out that the burden of hosting refugees began to pressure us in Jordan and on their host countries as a result of the decline of international support provided to refugees at serious rates indicating that the global funding for Jordan’s response plan to the Syrian crisis reached only 6.8 per cent this year.

In comparison, last year, it was 33 per cent. Compared to about 64 per cent in 2016.

It was also confirmed that the refugees are victims of a fierce crisis that has not yet been resolved. “We have done everything we can to ensure that they will not also become victims of need and desperation, but this cannot and should not be our responsibility alone because it is far above our capacity.”

Working in isolation will only temporarily alleviate symptoms without addressing the root cause of the problem; we certainly need a real partnership, based on cooperation and taser, to achieve the common goals of our common challenges.

“The World Food Program (WFP), which is a key partner in our efforts to meet the needs of refugees, providing small but very important grants to hundreds of thousands of refugees and, in fact, less than $30 a month,” noted PM Khasawneh. 

He also said that these refugees would not be able to rely on it in September because the program World Food needs more funds to continue its operations, which means those people will suffer more than they already do.

Investment in refugees is an investment in our collective security; the walls will not stop immigration to Europe but by ending the conditions that have forced refugees to leave their homes in the first place, which means providing refugees with the resources they need to live a decent life in the immediate neighbourhood of their countries until they become The circumstances are favourable for them to return to their homeland.

The Prime Minister emphasized that the outbreak of one international crisis does not mean the end of the previous turmoil or the current situation. 

Certainly, ignoring the needs of refugees in one part of the world will lead to the worsening of the immigration crisis in another part of Lafta; according to the statistics of the United Nations, last year, there was an increase in the number of Syrians who left Jordan to Europe via third countries.

He also expressed his gratitude to the Italian Government for holding this conference where European, African, and Arab countries and international organizations and institutions focus on immigration and refugee challenges.

Prime Minister Bisher Al Khasawneh held meetings with several heads of delegations participating in the conference focused on promoting bilateral cooperation between Jordan and these countries and research on ways to unify efforts to face shared crises and challenges.