Minister Bettel Visits Refugee Camp, Reaffirms Luxembourg Support in Jordan

Luxembourg's Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Minister for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs, Xavier Bettel, paid a working visit to Jordan on Wednesday 31 July and Thursday 1 August 2024.

As reported by Luxembourg's Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Defence, Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade, the trip included a bilateral meeting with Jordan's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ayman Safadi, in Amman. The discussions focused on bilateral relations between Luxembourg and Jordan as well as the latest developments in the Middle East. Minister Bettel underlined the "excellent" relations between the two countries by reaffirming Luxembourg's support for Jordan in promoting peace and responding to the refugee situation in the region.

He stated: "Jordan is a key partner of Luxembourg in promoting stability in the Middle East and in welcoming millions of refugees. Aware that the burden must be shared, we are currently examining how we can further support Jordan in the face of the many challenges the country is facing. Jordan can count on Luxembourg's solidarity."

Following the bilateral meeting, Ministers Bettel and Safadi signed a memorandum of understanding establishing a mechanism for political consultations, allowing for further deepening of bilateral relations between Luxembourg and Jordan, as well as cooperation in multilateral bodies.

As part of the trip, Luxembourg's Foreign Minister also visited the headquarters of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Jordan, as well as a training centre managed by the UN agency and offering educational opportunities to Palestinian refugees. The ministry recalled that the UNRWA provides services such as primary and vocational education, primary health care and social services, improvement and management of camp infrastructure, microfinance projects and emergency interventions in Jordan, which has more than two million registered Palestinian refugees.

During discussions with UNRWA staff and beneficiaries, Minister Bettel praised the agency's work and commitment to the Palestinian population, particularly in the face of an increasingly critical humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip. He took the opportunity to reaffirm Luxembourg's support for UNRWA, both in carrying out its critical mission and in implementing the recommendations of the Colonna report.

Minister Bettel then also visited the UNRWA archives, which contain all the identity and historical documents of Palestinian refugees. The ministry noted that Luxembourg is currently contributing to a project to digitise these archives, which aims to preserve the history and collective memory of Palestinian refugees.

In northern Jordan, Minister Bettel visited the Zaatari camp, which, with nearly 78,000 inhabitants, is the largest Syrian refugee camp in the world. The camp is co-managed by the Jordanian authorities and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), one of the partners supported by Luxembourg's Development Cooperation for assistance to refugees in Jordan. Minister Bettel highlighted the importance of not forgetting the conflict in Syria, which has now lasted thirteen years and continues to have dramatic consequences on the lives of millions of people in the region.

Minister Bettel later had a working dinner with Minister Safadi and a working breakfast with the ambassadors and chargés d'affaires of the European Union, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium, respectively, residing in Amman.