EU, Jordan sign 180m euro loan agreement

AMMAN — The European Commission signed a 180 million euro aid package for Jordan on Tuesday to help it assist refugees from Syria and cope with a disruption of gas imports from Egypt.

Under the terms of an agreement signed by Economic Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn and Finance Minister Umayya Toukan in Brussels, the EU executive offered the Kingdom a medium-term loan in two instalments this year of 100 million euros and 80 million euros ($250 million or around JD177 million in total), Agence France-Presse reported.

“The EU is helping Jordan to weather the severe impact of the regional economic and political crisis,” Rehn said. “This assistance will help ease Jordan’s financing constraints and support its economic reforms.”

The aid aims to help the Kingdom address the consequences of a number of external economic shocks, notably related to the conflict in Syria and the disruption in gas imports from Egypt, AFP reported.

On Monday, Japan agreed to transfer JD82 million ($118 million) to the Kingdom’s Treasury before the end of this month in the form of a soft loan. 

With the loans from the EU and Japan, Jordan has secured financing in loans worth around JD437 million (around $617 million) in just four days, as the World Bank last Thursday approved a $250 million soft loan to support the state budget to ease financial strains caused by the influx of hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees.

Also on Monday, the US signed a $165 million water assistance agreement with Jordan.

The funds will assist the government over the next five years with infrastructure development, water sector reform, water management and conservation, and outreach programmes at the household, institutional and industrial levels.