Kuwait channels $24 billion in development assistance to Jordan in 24 years

AMMAN — The volume of development assistance channelled by Kuwait to Jordan, through the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAD), has reached around $24 billion between 1999 and 2023.

This support included grants totalling $13.4 billion, of which $1.25 billion was through the Gulf Cooperation Council and another $4.3 million to finance economic feasibility studies.

Kuwait has also extended soft loans of$553.5 worth of soft million to Jordan to finance priority development projects in sectors such as education, health, transport, municipalities, energy and water, as well as finance feasibility studies.

An additional $ 500 million was earmarked as a deposit in the Central bank of Jordan (CBJ) to support Jordan’s economic reform initiatives.

Over the period 2016 -2022, Kuwait provided support to Jordanian municipalities hosting Syrian refugees, amounting to $88 million with the Gulf state’s contributions to the “Syrian Crisis Response Plan” reaching $ 1.8 million in 2023 and $ 2.5 million in 2022.

Jordan and Kuwait are signatories to several important bilateral agreements, including the Free Trade Agreement signed in 2001 and are active members of major Arab economic organisations, the World Trade Organisation and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

Trade relations between Jordan and Kuwait have seen remarkable growth, particularly in the commercial sectors, reflecting the improvement in production capacity and exports in both countries. 

In 2023, Jordan’s exports to Kuwait amounted to $ 182.2 million, while imports totalled $ 66.1 million, underlining the robust economic relations between the two countries.

Kuwait ranks second in terms of non-Jordanian investors in the Amman Stock Exchange (ASE), with a total of 2,232 investors and investments of nearly $1.4 billion by the end of February 2024, according to Securities Depository Centre (SDC).

Kuwaiti investment in ASE reached JD975 million at the end of March. 

Data from the Association of Banks in Jordan (ABJ) showed that Kuwaiti investments account for more than 1 per cent of banks’ capital and are concentrated in four banks the Jordan Kuwait Bank at 51per cent, followed by Housing Bank at 18.6per cent, Arab Banking Corporation at 1.3per cent and Invest Bank at 4.3per cent.

Based on these figures, Kuwaiti investment in Jordanian banks is estimated at JD420 million, accounting for 10 per cent of the JD4.25-billion foreign investment in local banks.

Kuwaiti investments, benefiting from Jordan’s investment law reached approximately $ 283.6 million between 1996 -2022. 

President of the Jordan and Amman Chambers of Industry Fathi Jaghbeer said on Tuesday that Kuwaiti investments in Jordan lead the pack among Arab and foreign investments in the Kingdom, amounting to approximately $20 billion, covering a wide range of sectors, including tourism, extractive industries, banking, telecommunications, real estate, and transportation. 

Jaghbeer highlighted the growth of Jordanian exports to Kuwait, which saw a 7.1 per cent increase in 2023, amounting to roughly $182 million, while Jordan’s imports from Kuwait in the same year were valued at approximately $66 million.