USAID confirms continued support for Jordan

AMMAN — Deputy Administrator for Policy and Programming at USAID Isobel Coleman on Thursday pledged that the agency will continue to support Jordan in addressing economic challenges arising from higher global energy and food prices and the pandemic’s repercussions.

In an interview with the Jordan News Agency, Petra, Coleman said that Jordan has many points of strength. She stressed that the agency is ready to address the Kingdom's major economic problems, including increasing government revenues, a major theme of economic reform efforts.

She cited a recently launched programme aimed to enhance the business environment, encouraging the private sector to generate more jobs, especially for youth and women and increase the country's national exports.

Coleman said that the agency is committed to helping Jordan in the energy sector and addressing water scarcity by diversifying supplies over the long term and achieving sustainable water and energy security.

She said that the pandemic “severely affected” the Jordanian economy during the past two years, expressing hope for the tourism sector’s speedy recovery, which is a major source of income for Jordan.

In this regard, the USAID official said that the Kingdom is home to tourist, archaeological and cultural sites that “should be on anyone's travel wish-list”.

On women empowerment, Coleman indicated that studies conducted by the agency reveal that advancing women's economic participation in Jordan to the same levels as men would produce an additional $8 billion into the economy, equivalent to a 20 per cent increase in GDP.

She added that there are fundamental issues that prevent women from fully using their university degrees, experiences and skills in the labour market, calling for addressing these issues as a priority.

In this regard, Coleman noted that USAID recently launched a $30 million women economic empowerment programme in Jordan, with the aim to support women's access to private sector jobs, by addressing barriers related to mobility and childcare.

On her current visit to Jordan, which will last until Saturday, Coleman said that she is scheduled to meet with a number of Jordanian officials to discuss a range of topics related to the US-Jordanian partnership, water security in Jordan, economic development, women's empowerment and the needs of Syrian refugees.

Coleman is responsible for programme and policy oversight, including of the Agency’s Regional and Pillar Bureaus. 

As deputy administrator, she is responsible for overseeing the agency’s efforts to prevent famine and future pandemics; strengthen education, health, democracy, and economic growth; and improve responses to climate change.