Jordan Times
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
US approves additional $100m in aid to Jordan
AMMAN (Petra) — The US Congress agreed to
appropriate $100 million in additional assistance to Jordan for the year 2005,
Planning and International Cooperation Minister Suhair Al-Ali announced on
Monday.
The assistance will raise US aid to Jordan to $350 million, an amount equal to
that extended to the Kingdom in 2004, the minister indicated.
The additional US assistance is meant to help Jordan press ahead with its
comprehensive economic reform program for raising standards of living for all
citizens, Al-Ali said, noting that the funds will support the country's balance
of payment.
Of the original $250 million assistance allocated for Jordan, $50 million are to
be spent on water projects and $37 million on health, education and political
development plans.
The authorities have also set aside $43 million to finance a program designed to
enhance economic opportunities for Jordanians. The remaining $120 million has
been earmarked for development projects included in the 2005 budget, according
to the minister.
US assistance to Jordan has increased significantly since the Gulf crisis in
1991, according to Jordan's embassy in Washington.
In April, the US Agency for International Development awarded a new project for
Health Systems Strengthening to the US-based company Abt Associates as part of
its support for the health sector in Jordan, a statement by the US embassy in
Amman said.
This new five-year $45 million project will work in partnership with the
government and other private and NGO partners to “further improve and
institutionalize a responsive, quality-oriented public health care system in
Jordan.”