Jordan Times
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Jordan to host meeting on Iraqi refugees
Jordan will host in July a conference of countries sheltering hundreds of thousands of Iraqis who have fled the violence in
their country, a foreign ministry source told Agence France-Presse.
“Regional countries, mainly Jordan, Syria and Iraq, as well as the United Nations, will take part in the conference that
will discuss ways of helping these states cope with burdens caused by Iraqi refugees,” the source was quoted as saying by
AFP.
The decision to host the conference was made at a meeting between Foreign Minister Abdul Ilah Khatib and his Iraqi
counterpart Hoshiyar Zebari in Amman.
During the talks, Khatib reiterated Jordan’s support for efforts to restore security and stability in Iraq, the Jordan News
Agency, Petra, reported.
The United Nations estimates that some two million of Iraq’s 26 million people have left the country since the 2003 US
invasion while another 1.7 million have fled their homes for safer areas within Iraq, according to AFP.
Around 1.2 million Iraqis have sought refuge in neighbouring Jordan and Syria, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said in June.
Jordan said in May that hosting Iraqi refugees is costing the Kingdom around $1 billion a year and has commissioned a survey
to determine the exact number of Iraqis on its territory.