Wednesday, 13 March 2019
An Official Delegation that includes the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Affairs, Ayman Safadi, the Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, Dr. Mary Kawar, and Secretary General of the Higher Population Council, Dr. Abla Ammawi, is participating in the Third Brussels Conference, organized by the European Union, on "Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region", held in Brussels- Belgium, during 12-14 / 3/2019,.

The conference aims at declaring the financial pledges taken by the European Union (EU), the international community and donors to strengthen the capacities for responding to the crises of Syrian refugees and displaced persons, in Syria and the neighboring countries of asylum; in particular, Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon. The EU further seeks to sustain the efforts in providing humanitarian and political support in Syria, promote the achievement of a political solution and to help create the suitable conditions for the refugees to return home.

During the opening session of the conference, participants reviewed the experiences of a number of Syrian refugees in the countries surrounding Syria, including the difficulties of their involvement in the hosting communities at the beginning of their arrival, the most important challenges they face in the countries of asylum and the issue of displacement and the solutions available for it.

In the session on Youth subject, and during her presentation on "Economic and Social Empowerment of Youth", Amawi stressed that the infrastructure in refugee hosting communities in Jordan is suffering under great pressure, and the government cannot endure these challenges. Amawi further noted that the refugees are concentrated in areas that are basically suffering from a pressured infrastructure. She indicated that, when talking about human development, a particular focus must be placed on several indicators to measure it, which are reflected in the individual abiliy to benefit from education and livelihoods, and economic empowerment.

Moreover, Amawi reviewed the most important figures in relation with refugees, reaching 1.3 million refugees, mostly under the age of 64 years. The majority of refugees are less than 15 years, and 60% of children were enrolled in schools, but the number of the enrolled refugees in the secondary schools and higher education is still small; stressing Jordan's endeavors to provide Syrians with a higher education to empower them with the opportunity of decent and healthy livelihoods.

Furthermore, Amawi addressed the issue of early marriage among Syrians, noting that 43% of Syrian girls are getting married under the age of 18 in 2015, of which 95% were at the primary level of education or below. She stressed the necessity of exerting unified efforts to address this issue and to reach a unified approach in this area.

Amawi highlighted the importance of providing a set of basic provisions for the empowerment of youth in society, especially the development of education and knowledge economies, improving public health and living conditions, empowering women in various fields, encouraging investment and strengthening public-private partnership in this field.

The two-day conference includes two sections, the first is two days of dialogue to discuss issues related to the Syrian crisis in terms of refugees and the possibility of them returning to their country, women's issues as one of the most affected groups by this crisis and other issues and their impact on the surrounding countries that are hosting refugees. In addition to the education and health, with the participation of civil society organizations, non-profit organizations and representatives of host countries and donors.

On the third day, a ministerial summit will be held in the presence of the foreign ministers of the participating countries, during which the financial pledges will be announced.