Visit of Minister Kehoe to Jordan
News
21 March 2019
Mr Paul Kehoe, T.D, Minister of State with responsibility for Defence, visited Jordan from March 18th – 21st, 2019. The visit of Minister Kehoe represented the first visit to Jordan by a Government Minister since the opening of the new Embassy of Ireland in Amman, in January 2019.
The Minister was Guest of Honour at the official St Patricks Day reception which was held in the Fairmont Hotel in Amman on March 18th. The reception was attended by over 180 guests. Attendees included HRH Prince Mired and HRH Princess Dina, representatives from the Government of Jordan, the diplomatic community, international organizations, business representatives, and representatives from the Irish community in Jordan.
On March 19th, the Minister participated at a Business Breakfast round table discussion in the Fairmont Hotel. The sentiment at the meeting was very positive with several Jordanian businesses expressing an interest in undertaking joint ventures with Irish partners and the meeting concluded with an agreement to establish an Ireland-Jordan business association.
Later on the morning of March 19th, the Minister, accompanied by the delegation, had a meeting with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Jordanian Armed Forces. The meeting, attended on the Jordanian side by the Chief of Staff and two of his Generals, was held at the Army GHQ.
The Minister also visited the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) Registration Centre in Khalda, Amman. This visit provided the Minister with an opportunity to witness how Irelands support for Syrian refugees was being delivered. The visit included a short tour of the Registration Centre and a demonstration of how technology is being used to identify refugees and ensure supports are delivered to families fairly and efficiently.
The Minister concluded his mission with a visit to the Makani Centre, a UNICEF supported youth protection programme in the south of the country. The Centre provides both Jordanian and refugee children and youth with non-formal education support, life skills training, and child protection activities. The programme also involves training parents (most of the group in this instance being women) in starting up small businesses. In the course of the Minister and Delegation also spoke with teachers, children, the management of the Centre and Unicef officials.
