Regional meeting on Iraqi refugees opens in Amman

Mar 18, 2008, 10:37 GMT

Amman - Jordanian Foreign Minister Salah Bashir on Tuesday opened a meeting of countries hosting Iraqi refugees by pledging continued effort to ensure adequate care for more than two million Iraqi refugees who fled their country after the 2003 US-led invasion.

Bashir underscored the importance of ensuring the return of security and stability to Iraq through a 'genuine political process that involves all parts of the Iraqi national fabric' as a prerequisite for the return of Iraqi refugees to their homes.

He reported 'progress' in the conditions of more than 500,000 Iraqi refugees living in Jordan over the past few months since the first meeting of host countries. The progress include the admission of tens of thousands of Iraqi children into Jordanian public schools.

The one-day meeting, the second of its type to be held in Amman, is being attended by representatives from Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Egypt, which form the core working group.

Also attending were observers from Turkey, Iran, the United Nations and the G-8 group, officials said.

They expected discussion to focus on technical and humanitarian issues after all political aspects were addressed during the first meeting that was held in the Jordanian capital in July.

The governments of Jordan and Syria were expected to press the world community anew for financial assistance to enable them to cope with the increasing burden of hosting about two million Iraqi refugees on their soil.

The Amman government said last month that the Iraqi refugees cost the Jordanian treasury about two billion dollars over the past three years.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Antonio Guterres told a press conference in Amman last month that Jordan and Syria were under serious economic strain because of the Iraqi influx which, he said, was being underestimated by the global community.