Ammon News - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is considering financing a $130-million project in Jordan to support the emergency response to food security.

In a recent report, a higher council for food security is to be established to manage food supply crises in Jordan "to be funded in part by a $130 million loan from EBRD."

The bank noted that the project aims to support the government by providing a loan to ensure the availability of liquidity necessary to buy grains and expand the strategic capacity to store grains and contribute to the food security of the country in response to the repercussions of the war in Ukraine, which has contributed to interruptions in grain supplies and “remarkable price hikes”.

The strategy comes in implementation of the directives of His Majesty King Abdullah II to make Jordan a regional center for food security, as His Majesty affirmed, in several meetings, that "Jordan's strategic location qualifies it to serve as a regional center for food."

Prime Minister Bisher Al Khasawneh stressed the importance of moving forward in implementing necessary procedures to provide enough stocks of food and basic items, out of the government’s commitment to realising food security requirements, maintaining strategic reserves and providing commodities to citizens in light of global changes.

The bank said that the loan will be extended to the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply due to its responsibility for international and national procurements and storing, selling and distributing wheat and barley in Jordan.

The loan will finance the needs of workers concerned with buying grains and will support the expansion of grain storage in a “strategic way” across the Kingdom.