U.S. Aid & Assistance
Congressional Visits
Congressional Statements
U.S. - Jordan Bilateral Relations
The U.S. - Jordan Bilateral Relations
Emergency Supplemental Assistance to Jordan
U.S. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and Jordanian Minister of Planning Dr.
Bassam Awadallah signed on the 13th of May 2003, documents that transfer $700
million in supplemental assistance from the United States to Jordan.
Following a request by President Bush, the Congress appropriated $700 million in
emergency assistance to Jordan for Fiscal Year 2003. This assistance is in
addition to the $250 million in bilateral economic assistance already
appropriated for Jordan in FY 2003. The purpose of the additional funds is to
help Jordan offset the economic dislocation it faces due to the conflict in
Iraq.
The war in Iraq resulted in revenue shortfalls and needs for new expenditures by
the Government of Jordan. The U.S. assistance will allow the Government of
Jordan to continue to deliver basic services to the citizens of Jordan -- such
as education and healthcare -- without interruption, in particular to those most
in need.
The $250 million appropriated in bilateral economic assistance for FY 2003 is
being programmed under the auspices of the U.S. Agency for International
Development (USAID) into development activities, primarily in the economic
growth, water and health sectors. Measured on a per capita basis, the U.S.
assistance program in Jordan is among the largest such programs in the
world.
The substantial amount of assistance being provided to Jordan is a testimony
to the commitment by the United States to work with allies and friends in the
Middle East to promote prosperity, economic growth, democracy and peace.
U.S.- Jordan Bilateral Investment Treaty
U.S. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell and Jordanian Foreign Minister Dr.
Marwan Muasher exchanged on May 13, 2003, instruments of
ratification for a Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) between their two
countries. This exchange will bring the treaty into full force after a period of
30 days.
On July 2, 1997, the United States and Jordan signed a "Treaty Concerning
the Encouragement and Reciprocal Protection of Investment."
The agreement was ratified by the Jordanian Parliament in 1998 and by
the U.S. Senate in 2000.
The Treaty provides Jordanian investors in the United States and U.S.
investors in Jordan with the highest standard of international protection for
the security of their investments.
In particular, the Treaty affords national treatment to investors in the
partner countries, ensuring that U.S. companies in Jordan and Jordanian
companies in the United States are treated as favorably as their competitors. It
also imposes limits on expropriation and compensation for expropriation,
guarantees of free transfer of earnings from investments, and affords investors
recourse to internationally accepted dispute settlement mechanisms.
The treaty is the most recent in a series of groundbreaking economic
agreements between the U.S. and Jordan. These include a bilateral Free Trade
Agreement and a state of the art "Open Skies" civil aviation
agreement.
The Treaty underscores U.S. support for Jordan's continuing efforts under the
leadership of King Abdullah to transform its economy, to increase the role of
the private sector, and to create an investor-friendly business climate.
Although signed in July of 1997, the American Jordanian Bilateral Investment
Treaty was ratified by the Jordanian Parliament in 1998 and by the United States
Senate in October 2000. On February 7, 2001, President Bush signed the
Instrument of Ratification completing the domestic ratification of the treaty.
In reconciling the translations of the documents in preparation for the final
exchange of Instruments of Ratification needed to bring the Treaty into force,
the governments of the United States and Jordan discovered a number of technical
discrepancies between their respective versions of the Treaty. The process in
addressing these technicalities has taken some time, but all matters have
been resolved to the satisfaction of both parties.
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