Ammon News -

Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, Nasser Shraideh, on Tuesday met with European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Olivér Varhelyi and his accompanying delegation.

The EU delegation is visiting Jordan to discuss bilateral cooperation between Jordanian and European parties. High-level officials from the European Union mission in Amman also participated in the meeting.

The two officials discussed a set of development issues of common interest to both sides, especially with regard to the partnership priorities between the two sides for the coming years, in light of challenges and impacts of the Syrian crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic on the national economy.

The Commissioner lauded Jordan's vital role as a stabilizing factor in the region and King Abdullah's efforts, and in hosting Syrian refugees, and stressed that the stability, security, prosperity and resilience of Jordan are important factors that are reflected in the stability and prosperity of the region, expressing the bloc's commitment and support to its partnership with Jordan, especially in the stage of economic recovery.

The two sides also discussed the European aid program to Jordan for 2021-2024 within the framework of the European Union's support for 2021-2027.

In the meeting, the European Commissioner announced the EU's commitment to provide financial aid from 2021 grants, amounting to 164 million euros, which will support priority bilateral programs in enhancing the role of the green economy, supporting the rule of law, allocating a grant to the national water carrier, and supporting interventions to respond to the Syrian crisis repercussions.

Varhelyi announced that the European aid package of grants that the bloc's is committed to providing to Jordan for 2021-2024 will not be less than 164 million euros annually, and the EU will provide additional annual grants of no less than 80 million euros to support Jordan in responding to the Syrian crisis.

He added that the European Union will continue to assist Jordan and support it in bearing the burden of hosting Syrian refugees.

In the meeting, the EU Commissioner also revealed that the bloc will mobilize at least 2.5 billion euros in European investments to the Kingdom in the next 7 years from the various available tools to the European side, including mixed concessional financing from grants, soft loans, loan guarantees, private sector participation and assistance Jordan in supporting the implementation of major strategic projects.

Minister Shraideh indicated that the meeting provided an opportunity to brief the European official and the accompanying delegation on the economic performance and the overall economic and social challenges in Jordan, especially with regard to economic growth trends and high unemployment rates, especially among young people.

He indicated that these challenges have intensified as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic on various productive sectors, especially the tourism filed.

The Commissioner was also briefed on the government's 2021-2023 economic work priorities program, which came to focus on recovery and economic growth by stimulating the private sector to create more jobs for Jordanians, especially for youth and women, and to support most hit-hard sectors by the pandemic, in addition to improving the coverage of national social protection programs, Shraideh noted.

He pointed out that priorities of the government’s work program also include an important component related to major projects and public-private partnerships, which are intended to stimulate investment and growth in priority sectors such as transportation, water infrastructure, renewable energy, and schools.

Among priorities that Shuraida presented to the European official was the Aqaba-Amman desalination and water transfer project (the national carrier) and the National Employment Programme, where the European side was asked to provide support for these priorities through grants and concessional financing.

The planning minister reaffirmed that Jordan is proceeding with the implementation of various reforms, referring to the matrix of national economic reforms, as well as the positive results of the International Monetary Fund's third review, which proceeds in parallel with the rest of reforms that the government is working to implement and contribute to development and modernization process that Jordan continues to pursue.

In the meeting, Minister Shraideh also discussed the European proposal to establish an investment platform between Jordan and the European Union; with the aim of mobilizing support for major strategic projects and attracting European investments to the Kingdom.

Both parties agreed on the importance of working to establish this platform as a coordinating framework, due to its significance in supporting Jordan’s efforts and mobilizing funding for the implementation of major projects and partnership projects between the private and public sectors.

These projects include at this stage, according to Shraideh, the National Water Carrier Project and the King Hussein Bridge Rehabilitation Project, and the full leverage of the EU and its member states available financing tools and work in coordination with other development partners, including European and international financial institutions, as this will lead to the optimal use of available financing resources, in addition to facilitating partnership between the public and private sectors.

These endeavors coincide in the context of efforts to develop a new investment law and business environment in Jordan, Shraideh explained.

Concluding the meeting, Commissioner Varhelyi said, "Jordan is an EU key partner and we will provide great support to the country in the coming years. My particular objective of this visit was to discuss how to move forward with the implementation of the new agenda with the Mediterranean basin countries and the economic and investment plan for the Southern Neighborhood. We have taken an important step forward today by agreeing to establish a coordination framework (platform) for investment between the European Union and Jordan. This will help us mobilize investments to support key projects jointly agreed upon by the EU and Jordan, such as the Aqaba-Amman Water Transmission and Desalination Project and the King Hussein Bridge Rehabilitation Project. It will also constitute an important forum to launch more investments for sustainable targeted projects, and support the social and economic modernization process in the country."