AMMAN —
Germany on Wednesday announced 483.6 million euros in new development-focused assistance and soft loans for 2021, according to a statement released Wednesday by the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation.
اضافة اعلان
The commitment was announced following annual German-Jordanian talks over development cooperation chaired by Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Nasser Shraideh.
Aside from 108.7 million euros Berlin pledged for the
Jordan Response Plan to the Syrian Crisis (JRP), 344.3 million euros will be channeled to finance priority projects through grants, technical assistance, and soft loans. Of this amount, 300 million euros will be provided in the form of financial assistance and will be dedicated to supporting various sectors, including water and sanitation, education, and vocational training, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra.
The minister met with a group of German government officials, including State Secretary of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development Maria Flachsbarth and Director General of Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy’s External Economic Policy Eckhard Franz, according to a ministry statement.
Shraideh expressed Jordan’s appreciation to Germany for supporting the government priorities in the areas of water, education, employment, training, technical and vocational education, and energy, including support for the Jordan Response Plan for the Syria Crisis.
Shraideh also lauded the efforts made by the development arms of the German government to implement a set of development projects and programs in Jordan within the framework of German-Jordanian development cooperation.
The ministry said “German officials were briefed on Jordan’s economic performance and the overall economic and social challenges in Jordan, especially with regard to the low growth and the high unemployment rates, which represent the biggest challenge to economic recovery efforts that hit a high percentage among young people.”
The German side was also briefed on the effects and repercussions of COVID-19 on the Jordanian economic sectors, in addition to the challenges arising from the ongoing Syrian refugee crisis, the statement added.
During the talks, Shriadeh stressed the importance of the policy of development loans to support Jordan’s budget as well as the implementation of industrial reforms, especially in the education and water sectors, which still play an effective role in implementing reforms and policies.
Urging the German side to continue providing soft financing to support the budget and priority sectors, the minister referred to the efforts that support gender integration and women’s participation in political and economic life, voicing Jordan’s pledge to do more.
For their part, the German officials emphasized Jordan’s “important” role in the region as a “stabilizing” factor, and the reforms that Jordan is implementing in various fields, expressing thanks to Jordan for hosting a “large” number of refugees.
Voicing their understanding of the challenges facing Jordan, the German officials highlighted the need to continue providing support to the Kingdom to meet its funding needs and provide financial and technical support .
This pledged support is designed to deal with Jordan’s urgent and priority needs using the financing tools available to the German side, which have “proven their effectiveness in supporting the Kingdom”, according to the German officials.
The officials also announced their continued efforts to maintain support to Jordan.
Later, Shraideh held an economic dialogue with a group of German businesspeople and investors, which saw the participation of German MPs and the president of the Arab-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
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