(MENAFN- Jordan News Agency) The Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation on Wednesday signed with the Japanese Embassy in Amman a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to give Jordan a soft loan of approximately US$196 million.
Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Imad Fakhoury, who signed the MoU with Japan's ambassador, Shuichi Sakurai, said the MoU was sealed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to provide a $196 million soft loan for a 25-year term with a grace period of up to 7 years and an interest rate of 1.7 percent.
The loan will be disbursed in two payouts of $97.5 million each. The first payout will be transferred after the signing of the agreement, when it goes into effect, while the second payout will be disbursed by the end of 2015.
Fakhoury said the agreement aims to improve the country's financial position and support its development policies by directly funding its budget.
The agreement comes in light of the recent visits of His Majesty King Abdullah II to Japan and the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Jordan, Fakhoury added.
He also stressed the importance of expanding cooperation between Japan and various Jordanian institutions through exploring new opportunities to establish projects in various fields, especially those that promote sustainable development and contribute to creating more employment opportunities.
The Japanese ambassador praised Jordan's role in supporting peace in the region, stressing his country's keenness to expand its developmental, economic and voluntary programs in Jordan.
He also valued the cooperation between all Jordanian institutions in achieving social development goals similar to those Japan is seeking to accomplish through multiple projects in Jordan.
From 1999 to 2014, Jordan received approximately $785 million, of which $451 million was in the form of grants and the rest in the form of soft loans as well as technical assistance presented by JICA. Three extra grants with an estimated value of $17.6 million were provided in connection with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's visit to Jordan in January 2015.
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