UK minister visits Jordan as it marks its centenary

James Cleverly discussed the Palestine-Israel conflict and the region's refugee crisis during his Amman visit

The UK's Minister for Middle East & North Africa James Cleverly meeting with the Jordanian government. James Cleverly/Twitter

James Cleverly, the UK's Minister for the Middle East, praised the growing defence and trade links between Britain and Jordan during his first official visit to the country.

In Amman, Mr Cleverly met Yousef Bataineh, Secretary General of the Jordanian Foreign Ministry. They discussed the Palestine-Israel conflict, the coronavirus crisis and development aid.

Mr Cleverly also visited a UN-run community centre in the Jordanian capital to see how UK aid is helping the country's refugee population.

The MP from Britain's ruling Conservative Party was in Jordan it celebrates its centenary year.

Jordan hosts a large number of refugees, including more than 600,000 Syrians who fled their country following the outbreak of conflict a decade ago.

Since 2012, Britain has contributed more than £726 million ($1 billion) in bilateral development assistance to Jordan. This year, the UK pledged at least £205m to deal with the fallout from the Syria crisis, despite a large cut to its foreign aid budget caused by the pandemic.

The UK has also provided £25m in support to Jordan's National Aid Fund, which provides cash transfers to 293,000 "economically vulnerable" households.

"On my first visit to the Hashemite Kingdom, I discovered how the UK-Jordan partnership is growing in strength during this landmark centenary year. We celebrated long-standing co-operation on defence, regional security and economic stability, as we build back better from the Covid-19 pandemic," Mr Cleverly said.

"The UK is a committed partner, providing assistance to Jordan as it generously hosts refugees fleeing regional conflicts. I saw how the UK is helping to strengthen Jordan’s social protection system, ensuring those most affected by the pandemic can get back on their feet."

Mr Cleverly also discussed efforts at tackling climate change as he met investors from Jordan’s renewable-energy sector. Later this year the UK will host the Cop26 summit in Glasgow which hopes to outline steps to build a carbon-neutral planet by 2050.

On April 11, Jordan marked a hundred years since Abdullah I became ruler of the Emirate of Transjordan following its breakaway from British colonial rule.