Saudi Arabia grants Jordan $232m

Jordan and Saudi Arabia signed three grant agreements worth USD 232 million on Sunday to finance water, irrigation and infrastructure projects, the state-run Petra News Agency reported. The donation is part of USD-1.25-billion grant that Saudi Arabia pledged to extend to Jordan in 2011 over a period of five years. Jordan's Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour stressed after the signing ceremony importance of the grant to the development of Jordan, especially in light of the difficult political and economic conditions in the region The agreements were signed by Jordan's Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Ibrahim Saif and Vice Chairman of the Saudi Fund for Development Youssef Al-Bassam. The Saudi contribution is part of the overall USD-five-billion grant to Jordan, coming also from Kuwait, the UAE and Qatar. Another USD five billion grant is similarly going to Morocco.