- The package will include a deposit in the Jordanian central bank, World Bank guarantees, budgetary support over five years and financing for development projects.
- King Salman called the meeting to muster support for ally Jordan, which had been rocked by mass protests against price rises and a proposed tax hike in recent days.
JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates agreed on Monday to provide an economic aid package worth $2.5 billion for Jordan, which is facing an economic crisis following anti-austerity protests.
The package, announced at a summit of the four nations in the holy city of Makkah, will include a deposit in the Jordanian central bank, World Bank guarantees, budgetary support over five years and financing for development projects, said a summit communique carried by the Saudi Press Agency.
The summit, called by Saudi King Salman, was attended by Jordan’s King Abdullah II along with UAE’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum and Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.
King Salman called the meeting to garner support for ally Jordan, which had been rocked by mass protests against price rises and a proposed tax hike in recent days.
The statement noted that funding for Jordan’s economic crisis comes from contributory funds for development projects in the Kingdom.
Following the meeting, King Abdullah II offered his gratitude to King Salman, Kuwait and the UAE for their support. Jordan is struggling to curb its debt after securing a $723 million loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2016.
Austerity measures tied to the loan have seen prices of basic necessities rise across the Kingdom of Jordan — culminating in a week of angry protests over tax proposals that forced prime minister Hani Mulki to resign.
The authorities on Thursday announced they were withdrawing the unpopular legislation, but still face a mammoth task to balance popular demands with the need to reduce the public debt burden.
Jordan blames its economic woes on instability rocking the region and the burden of hosting hundreds of thousands of refugees from war-torn Syria, complaining it has not received enough international support.
The World Bank says Jordan has “weak growth prospects” this year, while 18.5 percent of the working age population is unemployed.
Saudi Arabia and the United States are two of the major donors providing vital economic assistance to Jordan.
(With AFP and Reuters)
source: http://www.arabnews.com/node/1319341/saudi-arabia
King Abdullah of Jordan
Categories: Arab World, Asia, Jordan, Kuwait, Royal Family, Saudi Arabia, UAE, United Arab Emirates
On the one hand it is nice that Arab brothers ‘bail out’ Arab brothers. On the other hand Jordan should of course learn to stand on its own feet. 18.5 % unemployment. On the other hand tens of thousands of foreign labor doing jobs which the Jordanians do not want to do. Even in the textile factories the workers are from Bangladesh. No Jordanian can work for 200 $ a months and feed his family with it. Yes, it is complicated, but solutions need to be found. Every house has an ‘Egyptian’ janitor. In agriculture most workers are Egyptian too. No, I am not qualified to offer solutions here, but someone needs to …
Jordan can live with foreign help— hiw much money pour to Jordan— as long Jordan people cannot create million jobs firm them selve— for young graduate student— problem is still there.
Jordan should be govern by young educated leader with new idea— also Islamic clerics should reform the wrong Islanic teaching from praying so many times or forcus in spritual thing toward creating jobs with new technology.
Second be friend to all neighbors, create peace and never solve probkem with GUNS or war—-
War policy will destroy countries and humanity and next generation as we see in Syria, Gaza, Iraq, Afghanistab etc
Love your neighbor as you love self— love is the seed of peace, happiness and prosperity— hatred is the seed of evil, violent , war and poverty
All love ❤️
Well, Jordan is governed by a fairly young leader, the King. Many Jordanians are well educated and have jobs in the Arab Gulf and Saudi Arabia and send money home, and invest back home. – Although it is true that Muslims fight Muslims in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan etc. it is equally true that the foreigners are instigating, planning, executing disorders in all these places. Destabilize and Destroy is their plan of action, and it unfortunately works. “We are being destabalized because we are destabalizable just as we were colonized because we were colonizable.”