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Ammon News - Saudi Arabia transferred the 4th $50 million-worth tranche of the $250 million grant it had pledged to Jordan's general budget under the 2018 Mecca Summit.

Acting Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Yousef Shamali and Saudi Ambassador Nayef bin Bandar al-Sudairi made the announcement Thursday during a press briefing.

Shamali lauded the deep-rooted relations between Jordan and Saudi Arabia, which were established His Majesty King Abdullah II and the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia. He underlined Jordan's ongoing commitment to strengthen and develop ties at various levels to serve the two countries' peoples.

He also stressed the importance of Saudi Arabia's support for development, which has enabled the Jordanian government to implement top priority development projects and address economic and financial challenges that resulted from hosting Syrian refugees and the COVID-19 pandemic.

He commended Saudi Arabia's ongoing support to Jordan over the years of "robust and distinguished ties," and its $1.25 billion contribution to the Mecca Summit pledges, which aim at implementing strategic and top priority projects in various sectors.

Shamali highlighted Saudi Arabia's support for the Jordanian government's efforts to provide the necessary services to Syrian refugees and host communities, by providing grants totaling $130 million. The grants financed a number of projects in the health, education, water and sanitation and roads fields, he noted.

He pointed to the role of the Saudi Fund for Development in implementing development projects in key sectors, including soft loans that financed 19 economic and social projects, worth about $545 million, in the years 1975- 2021.

He underscored the importance of joint Arab action to address the major challenges, including the coronavirus pandemic, climate change, global food security and the repercussions of the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, which have an impact on global development efforts that aim at achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

There is a need to focus on regional projects in the fields of energy, water, environment, food security, and transportation, he indicated, stressing the need to activate regional cooperation agreements to turn these challenges into opportunities that help governments provide a better, dignified and sustainable life for their citizens.

For his part, the envoy underlined that the transfer of the 4th tranche is part of Saudi Arabia's commitment to stand by Jordan, noting that the Jordanian economy is durable and capable of growth despite the challenges it, and other countries in the region, has faced over the past decade.

He pointed to Jordan's ability to adapt and minimize negative effects, citing positive economic indicators including credit ratings from international rating agencies.