France offers EUR 150m loan to help Jordan budget
(AMMAN) - The French Development Agency inked a deal with the Jordanian government on Monday to provide the kingdom with a soft loan of 150 million euros ($193 million) to support its battered budget.
Amman, which is trying hard to offset a $3 billion deficit in this year's $9.6 billion budget, is expected to receive 100 million euros next month and the remaining next year, Jordan's planning ministry said.
The 150 million euros are part of the 2011-2013 loan agreement between the two countries according to which France will offer Jordan a total of 600 million euros in loan.
The ministry said the French agency will also grant Amman 1.6 million euros to support water projects in Jordan, one of the world's 10 driest countries, with 92 percent of its territory desert.
The International Monetary Fund in August issued a $2 billion loan for Jordan to steady its economy.
Separately, Amman has appealed for $700 million in global aid to cope with hosting more than 200,000 Syrian refugees who have fled the violence in their country.
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