UK grants 50.2m pounds to expand Kingdom’s social security network

AMMAN — Jordan and the UK on Sunday signed a grant agreement worth 50.2 million British pounds offered by the UK government to help the government expand the social security network.

The agreement comes as part of the implementation of the national social protection strategy.

Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Nasser Shraideh and UK Minister for Asia and the Middle East at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Amanda Milling signed the agreement, according to a ministry statement.

Under the agreement, the “Enhancing social and economic flexibility in Jordan” project will be implemented over five years, including supporting the Estidamah++ (sustainability) to expand social security subscriptions and encourage its transfer to the formal economy. 

The project will be implemented through the Social Security Corporation in partnership with other stakeholders, such as the Social Development Ministry and the National Aid Fund (NAF). 

The technical support is forecast to help monitoring and evaluation of social protection programmes through the Social Development Ministry, to meet the priority needs that can enhance the resilience of the social protection sector.

The grant is part of a pack of assistance Milling announced to Jordan, which totals 95 million pounds, including 65 million pounds for social protection and 30 million pounds for the educational sector.

The British minister stressed her country’s continuous support to Jordan for hosting Syrian refugees.

The UK government has contributed 34 million pounds since 2020 to support the social protection system amid the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic through supporting NAF programmes. 

Meanwhile, Shraideh and Milling went over bilateral relations between the countries and means to enhance them at various levels, in addition to discussing the latest developments in the regional and international arenas.

The two ministers also discussed major challenges that have affected supply chains of main commodities and the price hikes as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ramifications of the Russian-Ukrainian war.

Shraideh also praised the UK’s role and continuous support to help Jordan overcome the challenges imposed by regional instability on the national economy and help it face the challenges of hosting Syrian refugees.

Milling delivered a briefing on the UK’s international development strategy that was recently launched and the office’s priorities, noting that the strategy intends to face global challenges through launching investments, empowering women, providing humanitarian assistance to the most underprivileged people and exerting efforts to address climate change, nature protection and global health.

She also expressed her admiration for the Kingdom’s ability to deal with challenges and foreign shocks, commending the role of Jordan, under the leadership of His Majesty King Abdullah, in the region and in moving forward with important reforms in priority sectors.