The Jordanian government and the government of the United States have signed an important agreement, according to which the government of the U.S agreed to finance priority development projects and support economic recovery in Jordan. The U.S government has signed the deal to transfer the first batch of USD 600 million direct cash to the Jordanian treasury.
The deal was signed by the Mission Director of the U.S Agency for International Development (USAID) Sherry Carlin and the Jordanian Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Nasser Al-Shraideh.
The total value of the grant agreed upon for the year 2021, amounts to USD 845 million, out of which the agreement for the first batch of the U.S cash grant of USD 600 million was done on Saturday.
The U.S government via its U.S. economic assistance program for 2021 will continue to support priority development projects in the Middle East kingdom within the sectors of water, education, public finance, health, public works, energy, tourism, housing and, others. The cash grant will also help reduce Jordan’s fiscal budget deficit.
The second cash grant from the total amounting to USD 845 million by the U.S government, worth USD 245 million, will be transferred to the Jordanian treasury account before the end of this year.
The United States is the middle eastern kingdom’s single largest provider of bilateral assistance and reflects the commitment of the U.S government o continue to help the Jordanian government achieve a prosperous and stable future.
The U.S government has provided more than US$ 1.5 billion in 2020, including US$ 1.082 billion provided through USAID in the 2020 fiscal year budget, and US$ 425 million in State Department Foreign Military Financing funds. The United States has also provided almost US$ 1.7 billion in humanitarian aid to support refugees from Syria in Jordan since when the Syrian crisis began. The United States and Jordan signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in 2018 to provide US$ 6.375 billion in bilateral foreign aid to Jordan for a 5-year period.
According to the official data of Jordan, the U.S government will be providing USD 1.65 billion for military aid and USD 1.12 billion for economic aid during the year 2021. King Abdullah II of Jordan will be visiting the capital Washington D.C. next Monday to attend a meeting with US President Joe Biden, the US administration’s staff, the military services committees, congressional leaders and, several officials.