The US government and the Jordanian government signed two grant agreements on Tuesday amounting to $119.05 million. These agreements complete disbursement of an overall US government economic assistance portfolio to Jordan in US Fiscal Year 2004 of $348.5 million.
Under the first grant agreement, the United States government allocates $100 million to support programs under Jordan's social and economic transformation plan. According to Petra news agency, the second grant of $19.05 million will support ongoing USAID initiatives aimed at promoting broad-based economic growth in Jordan. This includes an e-Government program, support to the Executive Privatisation Commission, support to the Jordan-US Business Partnership and the development of Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA).
The agreements were signed by Jordan's minister of planning and international cooperation Basem Awadallah, US Ambassador Edward Ghuneim and acting mission director of the USAID in Jordan, David Barth. Bassem Awadallah said that the US aid aims at supporting the efforts of the Jordanian government to improve its services in the various sectors.
The US financial assistance to Jordan is considered among the largest aid programs in the world, according to the US embassy in the Jordanian capital. It has exceeded $2.3 billion over the last decade, while only during the last two years it exceeded $1 billion. (menareport.com)
© 2004 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
