Planning minister, EIB vice president discuss development cooperation

AMMAN — Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Zeina Toukan and Vice President of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Gelsomina Vigliotti discussed opportunities and areas of cooperation aimed at supporting development priorities in line with the Economic Modernisation Vision (EMV).

During the meeting, the two sides discussed supporting the implementation of several priorities within the EMV and its executive programme for 2023-2025, as well as capital projects and public-private partnership projects, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The minister praised the assistance provided by the bank through loans, investment and technical grants, which contributed to funding projects in key sectors such as water, sanitation, energy, transport, healthcare, industry, mining, education, private sector development and infrastructure. 

The EIB assistance also included financing Jordanian banks to provide intermediary lending support to small- and medium-sized enterprises and preparing technical studies and economic feasibility for projects in these sectors.

The bank has financed a range of vital projects in the Kingdom, such as the Disi Water Conveyance Project, the Wadi Arab Water Project for the northern governorates, supporting water sources in the Jordan Valley, water supply and sanitation for the Deir Alla and Al Karamah areas and the purchase of vaccines as part of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Also, the EIB has pledged support to the Aqaba-Amman Water Desalination and Conveyance Project — the National Water Carrier.

Vigliotti stressed the bank's understanding of the Kingdom's development needs and its aspiration for further cooperation and partnership with the Kingdom to support areas and sectors of mutual interest, such as digitalisation, energy, the environment, and climate change, in line with the priorities and projects included in the executive programme of the EMV.

On the sidelines of the meeting, Tiukan signed an agreement to establish and manage the bank’s representation in Jordan, indicating that this would enhance the "longstanding cooperation relations" between the two sides, which were enhanced by signing a framework agreement in 1997. 

The bank announced providing a grant to enhance the resilience of the public health sector in Jordan and support the purchase of 12 ambulances worth 990,000 euros, which will enhance the Ministry of Health’s emergency response capabilities.

The ambulances are expected to be deployed in Amman and northern regions, including areas hosting Syrian refugees, to enhance emergency medical services, ensure better access to healthcare, and improve response times for medical teams.

Vigliotti expressed EIB's pleasure to provide new support for healthcare in Jordan and support the purchase of 12 new ambulances from the bank's Economic Resilience Initiative Fund. 

The bank's portfolio in the Kingdom grew during the 2014-2024 period to nearly 1.8 billion euros, focused on sectors such as water, health, transport, energy, urban and municipal development, and lending to local companies and commercial banks to support micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises.

Separately, Toukan discussed with Canadian Minister of Development Ahmed Hussen the importance of continuing and enhancing the development cooperation programme directed towards Jordan to support priorities stemming from the EMV and its executive programme for 2023-2025.

The two sides, during their meeting on Monday evening, stressed the importance of Jordan benefitting from future Canadian international development cooperation programmes in sectors such as health, vocational and technical education and climate change, including the potential networking opportunities with international, UN, and multilateral institutions to support new projects.

Hussen reiterated Jordan’s priority for his country due to its effective implementation of "purposeful" development programmes and Canada’s intention to continue supporting the Kingdom’s development priorities and increasing support opportunities for capacity-building projects in targeted sectors. 

He praised the Kingdom's role in hosting large numbers of Syrian refugees.