For many years, Jordan has been a particularly close partner of Germany in a tension-filled region. The two countries are working hand in hand, both in the area of humanitarian assistance for Syria and in the fight against IS. German troops are stationed in the east of the country where, as part of the efforts to combat IS, they are helping to train personnel and conducting reconnaissance flights.

Given the current tension in Iran and Iraq, Foreign Minister Maas is travelling to Amman for talks with Foreign Minister Safadi on how the situation in the region can be further defused and how to continue the efforts to effectively combat IS in the entire region. Maas stated at the outset of his trip:

Bundeswehr combatting IS

The IS terrorist organisation is far from defeated and the commitment within the Global Coalition against Daesh remains immensely important. Foreign Minister Maas is also visiting the German troops at Azraq air base in Jordan to thank the 285 soldiers for their great contribution towards the international endeavours to combat IS and to learn more first-hand about the operation. The Foreign Minister will also talk to the German contingent commander responsible for Iraq and have talks about the current situation in the Gulf region.

Germany second largest donor

Almost 30% of Jordan’s 10.5 million population are refugees. It is estimated that more than one million of them are from Syria. Germany is providing the country with large-scale support so that the greatest possible number of Syrian refugee children in Jordan have direct access to schools. All in all, Germany made available around 513 million euros to Jordan in 2018 and was thus the second largest bilateral donor after the United States. In late 2018, Germany and Jordan also launched a strategic dialogue which is to be continued at the beginning of this year with high-ranking participants. Among other things, the two Governments will discuss how security policy challenges can be tackled even more efficiently together.