DOHA: Qatar singed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Jordan to grant $1.25bn. The amount is Qatar’s share in the GCC states’ contribution ($5bn grant) for Amman to support development projects in Jordan, Al Sharq reported yesterday.
GCC states (Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Kuwait) have earlier announced to contribute a grant of $5bn to Jordan. The grant will be disbursed to Amman in five equal instalments ($250m) during the next five years.
The MoU was singed by Minister of Economy and Finance H E Yousuf Hussein Kamal and his Jordanian counterpart, Suleiman Hafez.
“The grants will help accelerate the pace of growth and development in Jordan,” Yousef Hussein Kamal was quoted as saying.
He also added that the contribution made by Qatar to Jordan will further deepen and strengthen the bilateral relations.
Suleiman Hafez told the daily: “The visit of the Minister of Economy and Finance to Jordan is an expression of the deep and strong relations between Jordan and Qatar. I thank the leaders of the two countries, the Emir H H Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and His Majesty King Abdullah II.”
Hafez added: “The visit comes in order to create a regulatory framework in the country in the wake of the grant that Jordan is expected to receive from the Gulf Cooperation Council members in the next five years.”
Both ministers pointed out that a joint technical committee will be set-up to monitor and follow the implementation of the projects that are part of the agreements.
Hafiz further said that Jordan is at the end of discussions with the Qatari delegation about the projects that will be funded by the country.
He said that most of the projects to be funded by the grant countries are related to infrastructure development in the Kingdom, including projects related to the water and energy sector in different provinces.
The Jordanian minister praised Qatar and other GCC members for their assistance to his country, and said: “God willing, the present grants and the previous cooperation between the two brotherly countries will be a precursor to Qatari investment in the Jordanian economy. And it will give positive indications to the private sector to enter the country to invest.”
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in its recent summit held in Riyadh, decided to provide financial assistance to Jordan worth up to $5bn for the implementation of development projects are distributed to five years one billion dollars per year.
The Peninsula
