Cabinet approves $50m loan deal with Arab fund

AMMAN — The Council of Ministers on Wednesday approved a $50 million loan agreement that is scheduled to be signed between the government and the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD). 

The loan will contribute to a financing programme for small- and medium-sized projects in the Kingdom.

The Council of Ministers had been briefed about the programme, carried out by the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) and financed through international entities.

Such enterprises constitute around 98 per cent of all companies in the Kingdom and play a major role in eliminating poverty and unemployment, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

The Cabinet was also briefed on the results and the recommendations of a study on matching ICT specialisations with labour market needs. 

At the session, the Cabinet decided to refer the study's recommendations to the Human Resources Council to take them into account, according to Petra. 

Around 31,500 student are enrolled in ICT majors this year, while the number of graduates totalled 5,000 last year. 

Some 1,850 of these graduates joined the labour market in 2014, with the employment rate standing at 37.6 per cent, according to ICT Minister Majd Shweikeh.

Moreover, the Cabinet approved a $19.7 million loan agreement between the government and AFESD to finance a project on developing infrastructure at the Petra region. 

In addition, Health Minister Ali Hiasat briefed the Council of Ministers on the partnership between the public and the private sectors in healthcare. 

A partnership council in the healthcare sector, comprising 25 members, will deal with several issues, mainly health insurance, medical tourism and human resources development.