Amman - King Abdullah II conferred Tuesday with the visiting
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres and
pledged that Jordan would continue to host hundreds of thousands of
Iraqi refugees until security conditions allowed them to return to
their country.
'Despite challenges facing us, Jordan will continue to host the
Iraqi brethren until suitable conditions develop in their country in
such a manner that permits their return,' a royal court statement
quoted the monarch as saying.
'The only way to resolve the problem of Iraqi refugees lies in the
maintenance of security inside Iraq and ensuring the suitable climate
for their safe return to their country,' the king added.
A survey conducted last year by the Norwegian research foundation,
Fafo, at the behest of the UNHCR, put the number of Iraqis in Jordan
at between 450,000 and 500,000.
A least two million Iraqis took refuge in Jordan, Syria and Egypt
in the wake of the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq.
Guterres also discussed the living conditions of Iraqis in Jordan
with Prime Minister Nader Dahabi, who underscored the economic
burdens Jordan was incurring as a result of hosting this large number
of Iraqis.
Planning Minister Suhair al-Ali estimated that over the past three
years the Iraqis cost Jordan's infrastructure as well as educational
and health facilities about 1.6 billion dinars (2.26 billion
dollars).
USA
Your Talkback on this Story