Jordan News

The US Congress has given the green light to allocate $1,650 billion as a grant to Jordan, as part of the US budget for the year 2022.

According to the budget items, which were approved on Thursday, of these amounts, no less than 845.1 million dollars will be allocated to support the Jordanian government’s budget, in addition to 425 million dollars in military aid.

Regarding the distribution of this aid, a previous report by the US Congressional Research Center showed that about 1.2 billion dollars were directed as economic aid, and the remaining amount as military aid.

The United States pledged $1.275 billion annually in bilateral foreign assistance from 2018 to 2022; A total of $6.375 billion.

In 2018, the US Congress raised its pledged aid to $1.525 billion, including $1.08 billion in economic aid, in addition to $425 million in military support.

During the historic visit of His Majesty King Abdullah II to the United States in July 2021 and his meeting – as the first Arab leader – with the new US President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, US officials and US decision makers, the aid file was discussed. This confirmed the US administration’s keenness to provide all forms of support to Jordan, especially economic support.

The visit of His Majesty the King to the United States was followed by the visit of a Jordanian ministerial delegation that included the Ministers of Planning and International Cooperation Nasser Al-Shraideh and the Minister of Finance Muhammad Al-Asees in September 2021 to follow up on the results. From the royal visit. The aid file and its details were part of the talks.

The significance of US aid is that it has been the largest, most stable, and most secure over the past years (Jordan is the third largest recipient of annual US foreign aid in the world).

American aid constituted the basis and main pillar of the government’s budget and a means to alleviate the chronic deficit. Usually, US aid enables Jordan to obtain loans through available loan guarantees that have always helped Jordan with international lenders, especially the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

The foreign aid file is a very heavy file at a time when most international aid has declined and the global economy has declined, especially in light of the global epidemic. But for Jordan, the American aid remained, and it is an affirmation of appreciation for the efforts of His Majesty King Abdullah II with the authorities and friendly countries.