Libyan gov’t wires in first half of $220m owed to hospitals in Jordan

AMMAN — The Libyan government transferred $110 million to its account in the Central Bank of Jordan in order to pay its debts to Jordanian hospitals, President of the Private Hospitals Association Fawzi Hammouri told The Jordan Times on Tuesday.

The money is meant to reimburse many sub-segments of the Jordanian hospitals sector that have been treating Libyans in the Kingdom, Hammouri said over the phone.

However, the money has not been transferred to the hospitals yet, he added.

When the hospitals are paid, it will help them in turn pay their outstanding dues to the banks and suppliers who have been helping them over the past six years, the association president said.

No date is set yet for the payment of the remaining $110 million, he underlined.

Total debts payable by the Libyan government to Jordanian hospitals amount to $220 million, as calculated before the end of 2018, Hammouri noted.

Invoices issued for the treatment of Libyan patients towards the end of last year and onwards are not included in the sum, he mentioned.

MP Khalil Atiyeh said in a statement sent to The Jordan Times on Tuesday that he had addressed Prime Minister Omar Razzaz, urging the government to transfer the money promptly to the hospitals, before the end of Ramadan.

The lawmaker added that collecting these debts would help refresh the economy and create new job opportunities.

In previous remarks, Hammouri told The Jordan Times that the medical bills, accumulated by Libyans treated at 30 different private Jordanian hospitals, were to be paid back in three phases in 2018 as per an agreement signed in November of that year.