Jordan to receive $845 million in aid from United States

AMMAN

The United States will provide Jordan with more than $845 million in annual financial support, officials in Amman said Sunday, as the country remains heavily dependent on foreign aid.    

Prime Minister Bisher al-Khasawneh was present at the signing ceremony of the “agreement with the United States for the allocation of annual financial support of $845.1 million”, a Jordanian government statement said.    

Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Zeina Toukan and USAID official Margaret Spears signed the accord in Amman, it added.    

The Hashemite kingdom is a key Western ally in the Middle East.    

“Jordan is very grateful for the support, which demonstrates that the United States understands the challenges” the country faces, Khasawneh said.    

Washington will provide the aid by the end of the month, Toukan said, adding that the funds would go towards “financing development projects and implementing economic reforms in different sectors”.    

In September, the US committed to providing Jordan with $10.15 billion in aid between 2023 and 2029.    

Only slightly larger than Portugal, Jordan has few natural resources and only one port, Aqaba, on the Red Sea.    

The World Bank says the country is heavily in debt and faces around 23 percent unemployment.    

Some 675,000 refugees from neighbouring war-torn Syria are registered with the United Nations in Jordan.    

Amman estimates the real figure to be about twice that and says the cost of hosting them has exceeded $12 billion.