World Bank to provide 1.1-bln-USD financial support to Jordan in fiscal 2021
Jun 11, 2021
Amman (Jordan), June 11: The World Bank Group and other partners will provide a package of over 1.1 billion U.S. dollars in financial support to Jordan in the 2021 fiscal year, the Jordanian Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation said on Thursday.
The package includes support to the Jordan COVID-19 Emergency Response Project, which aims to vaccinate 40 percent of the eligible population so to help achieve the target of vaccinating 75 percent of Jordanian citizens, the ministry said in a statement.
It added that the World Bank is preparing to expand the Emergency Cash Transfer Project to support vulnerable households and workers impacted by the pandemic, as part of the government's Takaful (support) program, targeting about 160,000 households, and the Estidama (sustainability) program, targeting over 100,000 workers.
This assistance would be critical to reopening the economy, including schools and hard-hit sectors, said the statement.
The World Bank said that the Jordanian economy declined by 1.6 percent in 2020, while the unemployment rate soared during the fourth quarter of last year to unprecedented levels, especially among the young.
During a meeting with a visiting World Bank delegation on Thursday, Jordanian Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Nasser Shraideh said that the World Bank support would help boost the Jordanian economy and create new investment opportunities.
Source: Xinhua
