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Syrian refugees crisis greatly impacts Jordanian economy: IMF

Xinhua, February 3, 2016 Adjust font size:

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Tuesday the Syrian refugee crisis has greatly affected the Jordanian economy, urging for international support to the country, the state-run Petra news agency reported.

Adnan Mazarei, deputy director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the IMF, said Jordan provided services to large waves of Syrian refugees, which has hiked the country's spending and resulted in more financial burdens, especially when the Jordanian economy is facing other challenges.

"It is important that the international community starts supporting Jordan to be able to overcome these challenges, and the upcoming donors' conference in London is an opportunity to highlight this issue," he said.

Mazarei said the Jordanian economy faced several challenges over the past years due to repeated cuts in natural gas supply from Egypt, regional conflicts and global economic weakness.

He added that the influx of refugees burdened the public debt of the country that is home to 1.3 million Syrians.

The IMF will continue to support Jordan, he said, adding an IMF delegation will visit Jordan in the next few weeks to discuss extending the support. Endit