Jordan asks for more World Bank support over refugees

Syrian refugees in a military camp in Jordan. (Photo courtesy of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights/O. Laban-Mattei)

AMMAN—Jordan on Sunday called on the World Bank to increase its support to the country where one third of its population are now refugees, the state-run Petra news agency reported.

Jordan’s Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour made the appeal at a meeting with a World Bank delegation, saying around three out of the 9.5 million people living in Jordan today are refugees, nearly half from Syrian.

“The international community sympathized with Europe for receiving hundreds of thousands of Syrians refugees so how about a small country like Jordan that receives 1.

3 million Syrians,” the premier added.

Jordan is looking forward to receiving more support from the World Bank, stressing that the stability of Jordan is crucial for that of the whole region.

The influx of refugees has placed a heavy burden upon Jordan whose economy was also affected, said Ensour, adding that closure of borders with Iraq and Syria due to regional developments have also affected the Jordanian economy.