Jordan, Germany sign soft loan agreement worth 86 million euros

AMMAN — Jordan and Germany on Wednesday signed a concessional loan agreement worth 86 million euros to support the Kingdom's economic reforms.

The loan was announced by German Chancellor Angela Merkel during her visit to the Kingdom last June, according to a statement sent from the Planning Ministry to The Jordan Times. 

The agreement was signed by Planning Minster Mary Kawar, Vice Chancellor of Germany and Minister of Finance Olaf Sholz and member of the executive board of the German Development Bank, Joachim Nagel.

The loan, which is part of the aid package worth 462.12 million euros that was announced on Tuesday, will be completely transferred before the end of 2018 in support of the public budget to tackle the economic challenges that face the Kingdom and in appreciation of the economic and fiscal reform progress made by the Jordanian government, the statement said.

Prior to signing the agreement, Kawar met with Scholz and State Secretary for Economic and Fiscal Strategy at the Federal Ministry of Finance Wolfgang Schmidt. During the meeting, she briefed the German officials on Jordan's economic challenges and the reform plan adopted by the government to deal with them.

Kawar outlined means of bolstering cooperation between Jordan and Germany, especially in the economic and development fields. She also touched on the mounting burdens shouldered by the Kingdom as a result of hosting the Syrian refugees, according to the statement.

Kawar underscored the importance of the fulfilment of the donors’ commitments to host countries aimed at supporting their humanitarian and relief services for refugees, the statement said. 

The German ministers underlined their country's support for Jordan's development endeavour path, especially in education and technical education, stressing the need for enhanced economic cooperation and partnerships between businesspeople from both countries.