Jordan and the UK:
An Anchor of Stability in a Volatile Region
Jordan has long been one of the UK’s most important allies in the Middle East. Despite immense pressures – from hosting millions of refugees and coping with water scarcity, to confronting regional conflicts and security threats – the Kingdom has preserved a rare degree of stability and resilience.
This briefing, based on CGP’s cross-party parliamentary delegations to Jordan in summer 2025, explores the challenges and opportunities facing the country today. It highlights Jordan’s pivotal role in hosting Syrian and Palestinian refugees, its efforts to safeguard borders amid escalating drug and arms trafficking, and its balancing act as a moderate diplomatic voice in a volatile region.
The paper sets out why supporting Jordan is not just a humanitarian imperative but a strategic necessity for the UK. By investing in Jordan’s resilience – through defence cooperation, targeted development, and sustained diplomatic support – Britain strengthens a partner whose stability is vital for regional peace, global security, and the UK’s own national interests.
Key Findings
Jordan is a vital UK ally: Situated in one of the world’s most volatile regions, Jordan acts as a stabilising force despite acute security, economic, and political pressures.
Hosting refugees at scale: Jordan is the second-largest refugee host per capita globally, including over 600,000 Syrians, placing significant strain on public services and resources.
Fragile funding landscape: International support for refugee assistance has declined sharply, with UK contributions also reduced, threatening progress made in poverty reduction, health and education, and increases the risk of instability.
Border security under pressure: Drug trafficking, arms smuggling, and Iranian proxy activity across Jordan’s borders pose mounting threats to sovereignty and undermines Jordan's ability to be a moderate voice in the region.
Domestic vulnerabilities: High unemployment, political turbulence, and resource scarcity heighten the risk of internal challenges including radicalisation, particularly among young people.
Strategic importance for the UK: Jordan’s stability directly impacts UK interests – from managing refugee flows and tackling organised crime, to sustaining fragile regional security, and building a pathway to peace.
Key recommendations
Deepen UK–Jordan joint operations and intelligence -sharing to counter drug trafficking and arms smuggling from Syria, with targeted support for Jordan’s Border Guard units, expanded provision of surveillance and counter-smuggling technology, and structured mechanisms to ensure lessons contribute to UK and European border security.
Broaden UK training pipelines by expanding joint exercises - mutually beneficial in testing new environments and improving interoperability - complemented with specialist UK training teams in Jordan focused on counter-smuggling, counterterrorism, and cyber defence, ensuring sustained capacity transfer and operational partnership.
Safeguard the impact of CSSF and ISF programming on counterterrorism and extremism by preserving institutional learning despite UK aid cuts, scaling proven approaches that deliver impact, and ensuring rigorous evaluation so resources are directed to the most effective interventions.
Explore co-production and tailored supply of UK defence technologies, such as border monitoring, unmanned surveillance, and counter-drone systems, in ways that also build Jordanian technical expertise and strengthen bilateral defence-industrial ties.
Maintain UK humanitarian and development funding for Syrian refugees in Jordan, recognising that large-scale returns remain unlikely in the near term. Prioritising education, health, and livelihoods not only mitigates risks of radicalisation and instability but also supports conditions for eventual safe and voluntary return.
Continue strengthening UK–Jordan partnerships in renewable energy and water management, focusing on projects for refugee support that can deliver a triple dividend: advancing Jordan’s sustainability goals, easing domestic resource pressures, and improving conditions in refugee-hosting communities.
Build on the successes of the Jordan Compact by expanding vocational training and entrepreneurship programmes for refugee youth, linked to growth sectors such as renewable energy, ICT, and services, while maintaining support for British Council English language provision to enhance employability and mobility.