European Investment Bank grants 300m euros to Jordan, three Arab countries

AMMAN — Jordan stands to benefit from a 300-million-euro loan agreement from the European Investment Bank (EIB) which aims to enhance growth and create job opportunities.

The EIB said that it has given the green light to the first projects as part of its Economic Resilience Initiative, a comprehensive plan to support countries in the southern neighbourhood and the western Balkans, according to a statement published on the bank’s website.

One of the first initiatives is "a 300-million-euro loan to a Jordan-based bank to channel much needed finance to companies in Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco and the West Bank to support growth and sustain approximately 18,000 jobs in those countries", the statement quoted the bank’s President Werner Hoyer as saying. 

Hoyer was speaking during the EU ministerial conference on “Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region”, held in Brussels on Wednesday. 

Each country's allocation of the loan is not mentioned in the EIB's statement. 

The Economic Resilience Initiative, set up by the EIB at the request of the European Council, aims to make the economies in the southern neighbourhood and the western Balkans resilient to future crises and shocks, such as those stemming from the current Syrian conflict, and it benefits both local populations and refugees. 

"I am talking about investments in water and sanitation energy, transport, urban development, health and education facilities. I am also talking about supporting small businesses, encouraging them to take on more young people and to aid the integration of refugees, keeping them closer to their countries of origin and thereby facilitating a possible return," Hoyer told the conference. 

The EIB president also noted that work is under way to secure an additional 15 billion euros over the next five years to assist all neighbouring countries requiring support.