AMMAN — The British Ambassador to Jordan Bridget Brind visited
Balqa Governorate on Sunday 20 June to meet Governor Nayef Al-Hadayat and visit
a UK-funded project supporting refugees, as well as tour the scientific
research facility at
SESAME, which
includes UK participation.
اضافة اعلان
The
ambassador also met with parliamentary representatives of the governorate and
local young people during the trip, according to a statement from the British
embassy.
Hidayat welcomed
Ambassador Brind’s visit, stressing the depth of relations and friendship
between
Jordan and the United Kingdom.
He briefed the
ambassador on his tasks and duties as governor and said: “These tasks and
duties have gone beyond the security and administrative role to deliver a
development and improvements to the level of services provided to citizens.”
While
in the governorate, Ambassador Brind visited the Musa Al-Saket Cultural Center,
where she spoke to refugees at the project, which has been supported by UK Aid.
The
Norwegian Refugee Council provides legal information, counseling, and
assistance at the center on issues such as civil documentation, housing rights,
and labor rights.
The
ambassador concluded the visit at the Synchrotron-light for Experimental
Science and Applications in the Middle East (SESAME), the first synchrotron
light facility in the Middle East. During the visit, Ambassador Brind met with Khaled
Toukan, the director general of SESAME who led a tour around the facility.
SESAME sits near the
village of Allan near Salt, 27km to the northwest of Amman, and hosts
scientists from around the world.
In the statement, Toukan said that the "UK has played an
exceptionally pivotal role in the development of SESAME scientific and
technical activities.”
Support from the UK, such as donated equipment and training programs
organized, “has allowed SESAME to develop at a far quicker pace than would otherwise
have been the case," said Touqan.
The
statement added that the British government’s recently published Integrated
Review of the UK’s defense, development, and foreign policy has underscored the
importance of science and innovation in the UK’s cooperation with international
partners.
Following
the meetings, Ambassador Brind said: “I was delighted to visit the governorate
of Balqa and city of Salt today and to meet official representatives and young
people in Balqa. As we celebrate Jordan’s first centenary and look ahead to
another 100 years of close friendship between Jordan and the UK, it was good to
visit the place where, 100 years ago, King Abdullah I took many important steps
towards the founding of Jordan.”
A
hundred years ago, Salt was the first town in Jordan to open a public secondary
school. Today it hosts SESAME, the region’s first major international
scientific center of excellence and the world’s first large research facility
powered by renewable energy.
The
statement added that the British government is committed to working in
partnership with Jordan at all levels, both with government and with wider
civil society.
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