Sunday, Interior Minister Mazen al-Faraya visited the Directorate of Syrian Refugee Affairs, on the occasion of World Refugee Day. During his visit, he said that the number of refugees in the Kingdom exceeded 3.5 million people, which is 35 percent of Jordan’s total population.

He stated that the number of Syrian refugees in the Kingdom is around 1,360,000, of whom 667,000 are registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

He pointed out that Jordan hosts the largest number of refugees per capita worldwide.

Faraya indicated that in light of the exhaustion of some United Nations agencies and the World Food Program, this requires more attention to the possibility of serious repercussions, which means that many people will lose shelter and will be unable to obtain the basics of food and clothing.

Additionally, Faraya considered that voluntary return is the best solution to all refugee crises, but the number of returnees since the reopening of the borders in Oct. 2018, did not exceed 50,000 people, which calls for finding a comprehensive international plan aimed at providing the requirements for the return of Syrian refugees to their country.

Faraya said that Jordan continues to provide all the services that refugees need, stressing that Jordan is the first country in the region to equalize the right to receive the coronavirus vaccines for Jordanians and non-Jordanians residing on its territory, as the number of Syrian refugees who have received the vaccine as of Sunday, June 20, has reached around 20,000 refugees.