Luxembourg, UNWRA Sign €12m Partnership Agreement in Jordan

Luxembourg's Minister for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs, Franz Fayot, undertook a working visit to Amman in Jordan on Tuesday 14 and Wednesday 15 September 2021.

This working visit took place in the context of Luxembourg's humanitarian aid for various United Nations (UN) agencies and non-profit organisations active in Jordan in the field of refugee aid, particularly the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the World Food Programme (WFP), the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), the non-profits CARE and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC). Refugees, mainly those coming from Syria, Iraq and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, represent 36% of Jordan's population.

The trip was an opportunity for Minister Franz Fayot to visit a school and a health centre at the Amman New Camp for Palestinian refugees. He also signed a new strategic partnership framework with UNWRA, represented by Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini. The new partnership has a budget of €12.3 million for a period of three years (2022-24). Luxembourg's Humanitarian Affairs Minister emphasised that UNRWA is an important partner of the Grand Duchy in the Middle East: "I am delighted to strengthen the continued support of Luxembourg's humanitarian action for the crucial work that UNWRA is doing in protecting the rights of Palestinian refugees".
 
The Luxembourg delegation also visited the UNHCR-run refugee camp in Azraq and a WFP-operated supermarket that uses blockchain technology for transactions, as well as community projects run by CARE and NRC.

Moreover, Minister Franz Fayot met with his Jordanian counterpart, Nasser Shraideh, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation.