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Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation and the Japanese government on Monday, signed an agreement under which the Japanese government, through the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA), provides an additional grant to the Jordanian government, valued at $21,616,344.

The grant will be administered by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) to support the second phase of an urgent program to improve the efficiency of the water sector in the northern governorates hosting Syrian refugees, benefiting 20,000 citizens in the targeted areas.

Planning and International Cooperation Minister Imad Fakhoury and Ambassador of Japan to Jordan Shuichi Sakurai, Director and Representative of the UNOPS Operational Hub in Amman Bana Kaloti, Chief Representative of the JICA Office in Amman Tsutoma Kobayashi signed the grant agreement.

Fakhoury said that the grant is a response from the Japanese Government to the request made to support Jordan in alleviating the burdens of hosting 1.3 million Syrian refugees in Jordan as part of the Jordanian response plan (JRP) to the Syrian crisis.

The minister said that the grant aims to improve the quantity, quality and efficiency of drinking water, noting that it is following the first phase, which was implemented with the support of the Japanese government through a grant in 2014 worth about $22.4 million that was officially received on May 11, 2017.

Fakhoury expressed appreciation to Japan's support, praised the deep rooted relations and cooperation in various fields, noting that Jordan has received about $1290.12 million, $505.72 million of which in grants and the rest in soft loans, in addition to technical assistance provided to Jordan through the (JICA).

For his part, Ambassador Sakurai said in his remarks at the signing ceremony "I strongly hope that the new grant, in conjunction with the previous one, will improve water supply services for people in the region, thereby contributing to increased access to clean water and promotion of peace and social stability in Jordan.