The delegation held a meeting with the committee’s counterpart in the Jordanian parliament, the Arab and International Affairs Committee, for an exchange on parliamentary foreign policy priorities. The parliamentarians also met with Jordan’s Foreign minister and Deputy Prime Minister, Ayman Safadi, to discuss bileratal ties and regional issues. In addition, they met with civil society representatives to gain their perspectives on the political circumstances in Jordan and the region, and the situation for freedom of speech.
On the defense cooperation, the delegation met with the Chairman of Jordan Armed Forces and visited the King Abdullah II Air Base in Zarqa where they met with Norwegian forces based in Jordan and Iraq working for the Global Coalition against Deash (OIR) and the NATO Mission in Iraq (NMI).
The last day of the visit to Jordan was spent in Zaatari refugee camp situated close to border with Syria. The camp this year marked the tenth year since its opening after the conflict in Syria, and is today home to 80,000 people and is the largest refugee camp in the Middle East. The delegation received an orientation from the Syrian Refugees Affairs Department and UN and NGO humanitarian partners on the refugee response in Jordan and in Zaatari in particular. The briefings were followed by visits to a youth training project and a visit to a school inside the camp. The delegation also met with refugees living in the camps, to learn about the challenges they faced. Outside the camp the delegation visited the a community center where they hear from refugees of many different nationalities living in Jordanian urban areas. The visit to Zaatari gave the delegation insight into the Norwegian humanitarian support in Jordan and the important work done by the organisations in the camp.
After the visit to Jordan, the delegation continued their visit to Palestine and Israel. Read more about the visit here: Komitereise i Midtøsten - stortinget.no