AMMAN, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Jordan and the Islamic Development Bank signed a 100 million U.S. dollars agreement to support the state budget, the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation said Thursday.
Around 79 million U.S. dollars are in the form of soft loans, while the rest is a grant, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Emad Fakhoury said in a statement.
The deal will help support Jordan amidst a turbulent region, said Fakhoury, adding that Jordan was greatly affected by the crisis in Syria which resulted in the influx of some 1.3 million Syrian refugees into the Kingdom.
The Syrian refugees, he said, place a heavy pressure on Jordanian resources and infrastructure and increase economic and financial challenges on the kingdom.
Several health projects will be supported under the deal to reduce pressure on the sector.
Since 1970 to date, the Islamic Development Bank provided Jordan with 1.8 billion U.S. dollars in grants and loans to Jordan.
The minister voiced appreciation to the bank, which he said played a key role in supporting the Kingdom overcome challenges.
He added that the aid to Jordan follows the London Conference for donor countries in 2016 when the donor community pledged to provide aid to the Kingdom in cash assistance and other forms of support.
