Ammon News - The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank’s (AIIB) Board of Directors has approved a $250-million investment in Jordan to accelerate economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a statement released Wednesday, the bank said that its first loan to Jordan is expected to create more jobs by capitalizing on the economy’s potential, especially its green growth opportunities.

According to recent national statistics, Jordan’s real GDP contracted by around 1.6 percent in 2020 due to the pandemic. Unemployment soared to 24.7 percent and poverty increased by an estimated 40 percent in the earliest stage of the health crisis.

Totaling $1.2 billion and co-financed with the World Bank, the Inclusive, Transparent and Climate Responsive Investments Programme-for-Results (PforR) project supports Jordan’s ongoing reforms initiated under the Five-Year Reform Matrix. The reforms are aimed at strengthening systems to deliver well-targeted public investments, including public-private partnerships and addressing major challenges to the country’s competitiveness. In both cases, the program supports the greening of investments.

"Investing in green infrastructure creates jobs and economic value," said Konstantin Limitovskiy, AIIB Vice President, Investment Operations (Region 2). "Jordan has been one of the most active countries in the region in adopting international climate change initiatives, including the Paris Agreement. Our support will assist the government’s drive toward a greener, more climate responsive and more competitive economy."

In August, AIIB held a high-level roundtable with Jordanian public and private sector officials to discuss investment strategies to support the growth of the country’s transport sector. The discussion was part of AIIB’s ongoing engagement with its non-regional members in the Middle East and North Africa region as it prepares for its Annual Meeting in October hosted by the United Arab Emirates.

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is a multilateral development bank whose mission is financing the Infrastructure for Tomorrow infrastructure with sustainability at its core. It began operations in Beijing in January 2016 and has since grown to 103 approved members worldwide. It is capitalized at $100 billion and works with partners to meet clients’ needs by unlocking new capital and investing in infrastructure that is green, technology-enabled and promotes regional connectivity.