AMMAN – U.S. and Jordanian officials signed a memorandum acknowledging an additional $360 million in U.S. economic assistance today.  U.S. Ambassador to Jordan Stuart E. Jones, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Jaafar Abed Hassan, and United States Agency for International Development Mission Director Beth S. Paige signed the grants at a ceremony in Amman.

The grants will support economic and political development, enhance health and education services, and improve management of water and energy resources.  They will also support cross-cutting issues associated with the needs of youth and gender equality and female empowerment.

In remarks at the signing ceremony at the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, Ambassador Jones underscored that the grant funds “highlight the strong commitment of the American people to the people of Jordan to help address the country’s ongoing development challenges.”

The grant funds will be programmed as follows: 

• $47.792 million to increase trade and investment and to create jobs and develop the  workforce;
• $26.963 million to improve management of Jordan’s scarce available water and to improve water system infrastructure;
• $28.970 million to support King Abdullah’s vision for political development;
• $70.219 million to improve health and education services and to support vulnerable populations; and
• $184.000 million in the form of a cash transfer to help the Government of Jordan address its fiscal pressures.

The U.S. assistance program to Jordan is among the largest in the world.  Total U.S. economic assistance to Jordan over sixty years of partnership totals approximately $7.4 billion.