Int’l organizations, Irbid governorate stakeholders hold meeting on building strategic partnerships

Irbid: The Local Coordination Group in Irbid, northern Jordan, held a meeting with representatives of embassies, United Nations (UN) agencies, local and international organizations, UNHCR, UNDP, and directors of executive departments. The meeting covered building a strategic partnership at the governorate level in order to align humanitarian and developmental responses with the priorities and needs of the governorate and raise the level of coordination and participation in planning. Irbid Governor Radwan Al-Atoum said, while chairing the meeting on Monday, that the Irbid governorate and other government departments are committed to His Majesty King Abdullah's approach and wise vision regarding refugee issues and facilitating their lives and access to basic services, despite the fragility of the general economic situation. He added that Irbid is a strategic location for Syrian refugees, housing more than 460,000 Syrians in the city, a third of whom are registered with the UNHCR office. Al-Atoum emphasized the importance of aligning the response and development with the governorate's strategies and priorities in order to have a sustainable impact, expressing his hope that this meeting will be the beginning of productive joint work that drives sustainable development and a balanced response from all sides. Ghaith Obeidat, Assistant Governor for Development and Investment, presented the needs of Irbid governorate in light of the pressures on various sectors as a result of the Syrian refugees, whose number in Irbid is estimated at 460,000, of whom 46,000 benefited from government health sector services and 40,000 students enrolled in public schools in 2023. Source: Jordan News Agency