Today, Tuesday, Jordan and the United States concluded a financial grant agreement worth a total of $845.1 million to support the Kingdom’s budget for the current year.
This came according to what was reported by the official Petra news agency, which stated that Prime Minister Bisher Al-Khasawneh sponsored the signing of the agreement in the presence of Washington’s ambassador to the Kingdom, Yael Lambert.
The agreement was signed on behalf of Jordan by Minister of Planning, Zeina Touqan, and Leslie Reed, Mission Director of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Toukan explained that the cash grant agreement comes as part of the annual US economic aid program to the Jordanian government, and is included in the general budget law for the year 2023.
She indicated that, according to the cash grant agreement concluded today, the amount of annual and regular cash support will be transferred to the public treasury account.
The United States is a major supporter of Jordan, and in September 2022, the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding under which Washington provides annual financial aid to the Kingdom worth $1.45 billion for the period between 2023 and 2029.
The American support comes a month after Jordan agreed with the International Monetary Fund on a four-year reform program worth $1.2 billion.
In December 2022, Jordan approved the 2023 budget, expecting the budget deficit after foreign grants to reach $2.5 billion.
Jordanian Minister of Finance, Muhammad Al-Assis, considered that his country’s agreement with the IMF would send a message of confidence to investors and help protect the economy from the negative impact of the war that Israel has launched on the Gaza Strip since October 7.
Al-Assas considered that the new fund program would help the Kingdom better adapt to the brunt of the war on Gaza compared to most other countries.
He added that this program is a protection document against the regional shocks that Jordan will be exposed to and will preserve its financial and monetary policy.
Jordan’s recovery from the impact of global economic turmoil – including the repercussions of the aggression on Gaza – will enable it to continue growth on the targeted path to reach 2.6% this year.
