(MENAFN- Jordan Times) France will extend a low-interest, long-term loan to Jordan worth 150 million euros (around JD137 million) to finance the state budget, according to a government statement.
The announcement was made on Monday when Planning and International Cooperation Minister Jafar Hassan, French Ambassador to Jordan Corinne Breuze and the executive director of the French Agency for Development, Dov Zerah, signed the loan agreement.
According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, the officials also signed three separate agreements worth 1.6 million euros (JD1.4 million) as grants to support the water sector and small- and medium-sized projects in the Kingdom. The statement quoted Hassan as saying that France pledged to provide Jordan with the soft loan during His Majesty King Abdullah's visit to Paris in July.
He said the funds would help ease financial pressures on the budget, forecast to see a deficit of nearly JD1.2 billion by the end of this year, adding that France would disburse the funds in two payments.
The first payment, 100 million euros, is expected to be received by the Treasury in October, while the other 50 million euros will be received during the first half of 2013.Â
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