U.S. Aid Continues to Flow to Jordan, So Far Lesser Amount Budgeted vs. 2020
Posted on 07/18/2021
The United States via its U.S. economic assistance program for 2021 is transferring US$ 600 million to Jordan’s Treasury as part of a cash grant to the Middle East kingdom. This is the first installment of a US$ 845 million grant. The grant will support development projects in sectors, ranging from water to energy, while helping reduce Jordan’s fiscal budget deficit. The United States is Jordan’s single largest provider of bilateral assistance, providing more than US$ 1.5 billion in 2020, including US$ 1.082 billion appropriated by the U.S. Congress to Jordan through USAID in the 2020 fiscal year budget, and US$ 425 million in State Department Foreign Military Financing funds. The United States has also provided nearly US$ 1.7 billion in humanitarian assistance to support Syrian refugees in Jordan since the start of the Syria crisis. In 2018, the U.S. and Jordan signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to provide US$ 6.375 billion in bilateral foreign assistance to Jordan over a 5-year period, pending the availability of funds.
Earlier, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) released US$ 206 million to Jordan under a four-year US$ 1.3 billion loan program. The IMF also approved Jordan’s request to expand the program by US$ 200 million to help it continue battling the COVID-19 pandemic.