Japan disburses $100m in soft loan to support Jordan’s budget

AMMAN — The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) on Tuesday disbursed approximately $100 million in support of the general budget as part of the Development Policy Loan titled “COVID-19 Crisis Response Emergency Support Loan”.

The loan comes to help implement a number of stimulative measures that were launched by the Government of Jordan by the end of March 2021 to deal with the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic on the national economy, according to a JICA statement. 

The measures seek to create employment opportunities in the health, agriculture and tourism sectors.

The loan is considered part of the pledge the Government of Japan announced during the London Conference in February 2019 to support Jordan, the statement said. 

The Government of Japan pledged to provide assistance to Jordan amounting $300 million in the form of loans during the period 2021-2023, aiming to accelerate the economic recovery efforts and meet the urgent financing needs of the budget during this period.

Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Nasser Shraideh and JICA Chief Representative Miyahara Chie signed the loan agreement on November 29, 2021. 

The assistance, which was disbursed in Japanese yen, comes in the form of a soft loan with a very low interest rate that reaches 0.01, and a 15-year repayment period, in which the first four years as grace period, the statement said.