Sussexes start two-day Jordan visit with roundtable summit on refugees’ needs

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have begun a busy two-day visit to Jordan by sitting down with key figures working to support the humanitarian needs of refugees in the country and wider region.

Meghan and Harry joined a roundtable discussion hosted by the World Health Organisation (WHO) with individuals from leading bodies like the United Nations and many of its agencies, diplomatic representatives, and donors.

The couple, who stepped down as working royals in 2020 for personal and financial freedom, travelled to Jordan at the invitation of the WHO’s director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

The director general warmly welcomed the couple on the steps of the WHO’s country office in the Jordanian capital Amman, kissing and hugging the duchess who wore a white jacket and matching trousers and also embracing the duke.

During their two-day visit the Sussexes will meet Jordanian leaders and senior health officials, engage with WHO teams, visit frontline health and mental health programmes and meet World Central Kitchen staff co-ordinating food relief for Gaza from Amman.

They will also visit the social development organisation Questscope’s youth centre to hear from young people participating in creative and wellbeing programmes.

Around the table sat senior figures from UN agencies like UNWRA, UNHCR, World Food Programme, Unicef and diplomatic attendees from countries like the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Canada the EU.

Philip Hall, British Ambassador to Jordan, thanked the Sussexes for travelling to the Middle East: “So I would simply say thank you very much indeed for coming.

“Your visit, your support, your appreciation of the efforts that the United Nations, including of course, the World Health Organisation, the government of Jordan and others, are making here is enormously appreciated. So thank you for coming.”

Jordan has received wave after wave of refugees beginning with Palestinians more than 80 years ago, who now number around 2.5 million people, and Syrians who fled conflict in their country until recently ruled by President Bashar al-Assad.

The latest wave of displaced people has flowed from the Israeli government’s Gaza war against Hamas, launched after Hamas atrocities committed during the October 7 attacks.

The ambassador also told the assembled group about one of the developments needed to resolve the issues faced by Palestinians: “And of course, the last point is just to say a lasting solution of this requires a regional peace.

“It requires, in particular, peace between Palestine and Israel and the two state solution – that’s easily said, we all know it’s very hard to achieve, but we’re all working on that too.”