ammonnews.net

Ammon News - The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) transferred $100 million to the general budget, which represents the Emergency Development Policy Loan to support the Jordanian government's response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

"The loan aims to help implement a set of stimulus measures launched by the government at the end of March 2021 to deal with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the national economy, which included stimulating employment and providing job opportunities in health, agriculture and tourism sectors to enhance the economy’s resilience and enhance social protection," a JICA statement said Tuesday.

"This loan is part of the Japanese government’s pledge to support Jordan during the London Conference, which was held in February 2019, where the Japanese government pledged to grant Jordan a $300 million assistance in loans during 2021-2023 to accelerate economic recovery efforts and meet urgent financing needs of the budget in this stage," the statement added.

The loan agreement was signed by Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Nasser Shraideh, and JICA's main representative in Jordan Chi Mihara.

In its statement, JICA explained that the loan has very favorable terms, a low interest rate of 0.01, and a repayment period of up to 15 years, including a grace period of 4 years.