On June 26 and 27, 2022, Amanda Milling, the minister for Asia and the Middle East, traveled to Jordan.
Minister Milling emphasized the value of the strategic partnership between the UK and Jordan and the UK’s commitment to continuing our collaboration on diplomatic, development, economic, and security-related issues.
The Minister met with HE Ayman Safadi, the Foreign Minister of Jordan, to go over our diplomatic ties and how we can work together on various regional issues. The Minister expressed her gratitude for Jordan’s constructive and positive role as a regional force for peace.
Jordan’s generosity in accepting Syrian and other refugees fleeing regional conflicts was acknowledged by Minister Milling.
The Minister spoke with representatives from UN organizations and the Syrian Refugees Affairs Directorate while visiting the Al Azraq refugee camp to observe firsthand the humanitarian programs supporting Syrian refugees that are funded by the UK.
She unveiled a new £30 million UK Aid program to help 1.8 million host community and refugee children who have been affected by nearly two years of nonstop school closures. This also includes assistance with getting 95,000 vulnerable girls and 1,500 kids with disabilities into school. This supports the UK’s commitment to providing every girl with 12 years of top-notch education.
The Minister visited a supermarket run under contract by the World Food Programme, where refugees can exchange food vouchers for groceries, and she met with beneficiaries to learn firsthand about the conditions in the camp, their struggles, and their aspirations for the future.
A Memorandum of Understanding between the British Council and the Ministry of Education in Jordan was signed while Minister Milling was meeting with HE Dr. Wajih Owais, the Minister of Education. This is the first initiative of its kind, bringing UK expertise to Jordan to support the quality of education by improving English language instruction across the country and enabling young Jordanians to realize their full potential.
As part of ongoing UK assistance to the government of Jordan to implement the National Social Protection Strategy, Minister Milling signed a new £65 million Social Protection programme at a joint signing ceremony with H.E. Nasser Shraideh, Minister of Planning and International Affairs. In order to aid Jordan in recovering from COVID-19, this aims to improve services and payments to the most vulnerable and impoverished people.
Minister Milling said:
“The UK is committed to providing humanitarian support to refugees in Jordan. We continue to fund cash assistance for refugees to meet their basic needs (including shelter and food), and the provision of protection services to children and people at risk. Jordan is showing huge generosity in hosting refugees and it is right that the international community continues to play its part in supporting Jordan.”
In addition to meeting the minister of finance, minister Milling was pleased with Jordan’s commitment to moving forward with important economic reforms. The Minister praised the Economic Modernization Vision 2033’s introduction, emphasized the value of inclusive and sustainable growth, and emphasized the UK’s commitment to continuing to implement the 2019 London Initiative to support Jordan’s economic development and job creation.
Along with HE Wafa Beni Mustafa, Minister of State for Legal Affairs and Chair of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Women, Minister Milling also met a group of inspiring Jordanian women involved in politics. No society can succeed without the full participation of the female half of its population, so she spoke about how to ensure inclusion and greater involvement of women in all facets of the political process as well as the economy.
The Minister also expressed his congratulations to Classic Fashion Apparel Industry for sealing the first Jordanian deal backed by UK Export Finance. She praised the plan that will help Aqaba get a new textile and apparel factory up and running, giving Jordanians thousands of new jobs.
Minister Milling concluded:
“I was delighted to make my first visit to Jordan as Minister. Last year we celebrated 100 years of friendship between our countries and the UK is fully committed to sustaining and developing our unique strategic partnership into its second century.
“I expressed my gratitude for the Kingdom’s extraordinary and generous role in supporting refugees from regional conflicts and announced 2 major new UK-funded programmes totalling £95 million, designed to support both vulnerable Jordanians and refugees.
I was also delighted to meet Jordanian ministerial counterparts to discuss our diplomatic cooperation on regional issues and the UK’s support for Jordan’s crucial economic and political modernisation programmes.”