Jordan on Sunday urged the International Organisation for Migration to provide the kingdom with more aid to cope with the massive influx of refugees from neighbouring Syria.

Faced with a rising tide of refugees fleeing violence in Syria, Planning and International Cooperation Minister Ibrahim Saif tackled the subject at a meeting with the visiting IOM director general, William Lacy Swing.

They discussed ways to step up aid to Jordan, according to an official statement.

Specifically, Saif raised the possibility of greater IOM aid to Jordan's security forces for transporting refugees from the border to reception camps, it said.

The minister underlined the impact that hosting 478,000 Syrian refugees was having on all Jordanian government sectors and services.

Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh, meanwhile, told a European Parliament delegation that "in spite of the current economic difficulties ... Jordan will continue to welcome Syrian refugees and will not close its borders."

The number of Syrian refugees in Jordan could triple by the end of 2013, reaching 1,2 million, according to UN estimates. It says around 385,000 Syrian refugees are currently in Jordan, including 250,000 children.