Kanakrieh, Gulf counterparts follow up on Mecca summit pledges

AMMAN — Finance Minister Ezzeddine Kanakrieh on Monday met with his Kuwaiti, Saudi and UAE counterparts in Kuwait City to follow up on the implementation of the Mecca summit outcomes, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

The meeting reviewed the steps taken by the government towards financial and economic stability in light of the results and outcomes of the Mecca meeting, in addition to the preparations for the London Initiative 2019, scheduled for February 28.

The ministers of the Gulf countries stressed the need for supporting the Jordanian economy by following through on the outcomes of the Mecca summit, affirming the importance of participation in the London initiative and inviting the private sector to take part as well, to get acquainted with investment opportunities in Jordan, according to Petra. 

For his part, Kanakrieh said that the talks was very “constructive and cordial”, during which the Jordanian ministerial delegation were able to discuss the Kingdom’s economic and financial reform measures, which aim to further enhance financial and monetary stability, as well as present the government's plan to boost economic growth and promote economic enterprises.

Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Mary Kawar and Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Hala Zawati also attended the meeting. 

Held on June 10 last year in Mecca, the summit was attended by His Majesty King Abdullah upon an invitation from the Saudi King Salman Bin Abdulaziz, which was also attended by Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah and Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashed Al Maktoum, the UAE’s vice president, prime minister and Dubai ruler. 

Under the Mecca summit pledges, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE agreed to provide a $2.5 billion economic aid package to Jordan over five years to support the budget, fund development projects, provide credit guarantees to enable Jordan to secure international financing and place deposits in the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ).

In October 2018, the government signed agreements with the three countries to implement the pledges, which are: $1.16 billion in deposits at the CBJ, $550 million in soft financing for development projects, $200 million in credit guarantees to the World Bank to help Jordan secure soft loans and $500 million in grants to support the budget over five years for the implementation of development projects.

Kuwait has also announced plans to reschedule $300 million worth of loans for a period of 40 years.

All these measures combined aim to strengthen Jordan’s economy, attract foreign investments and maintain monetary stability.