‘Germany is keen on boosting support to Jordan’

AMMAN — The German government is keen on increasing its aid to Jordan’s public budget to support sectors of mutual interest a German official said on Wednesday.

Claudia Warning, the director general for the Middle East, Asia, Latin America, south-eastern and eastern Europe at the German federal ministry for economic cooperation and development, made the remarks during a meeting with Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, and Minister of State for Economic Affairs Mohamad Al-Ississ. 

The talks covered increasing financial and technical support to priority areas of cooperation, including the sectors of water and education, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

During the meeting, Ississ expressed his gratitude for the German government’s continuous support to the Kingdom’s development efforts, and for helping Jordan face the ramifications of the Syrian refugee crisis. 

Warning affirmed her country’s commitment to aiding Jordan and Syria’s neighbouring countries, which have been affected by the refugee crisis, and expressed gratitude for Jordan’s vital role in hosting Syrian refugees. 

The meeting also tackled the outcomes of the London initiative, held in February, as the two sides discussed Jordan’s five-year economic reform plan to achieve self-sustainability and create jobs by cultivating growth and investment. 

Ississ and Warning’s meeting came in preparation for official Jordanian-German talks set for October, as well as the visit of a German delegation led by German Federal Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development Gerd Müller, who will participate in an event marking the 60th anniversary of Jordanian-German development cooperation.  

Earlier in the day, Warning and an accompanying delegation also met with Secretary General of the Water Authority of Jordan (WAJ) Iyad Dahiyat to discuss the water sector’s plans, strategies and programmes for 2019-2021. 

The two sides also addressed prospective projects planned for the coming two years, the value of which stand at 373 million euros. 

During the meeting, Dahiyat highlighted Germany’s role as a key supporter of the Kingdom’s water sector, noting that the value of monetary support, provided to Jordan through the German Development Bank (KfW) over the past 10 years, in addition to the bank’s commitments for future project amounts to over 1.1 billion euros. 

He pointed out that a number of projects are currently in the pre-implementation phase, including a project to rehabilitate water networks in Irbid. 

Dahiyat added that the Water Ministry is working hard to mitigate the effects of overpopulation in the northern and central municipalities, which has resulted in an “extremely high” demand for water, according to Petra. 

The WAJ secretary general also noted that the preparation of tenders will soon begin to habilitate and install water networks in Jerash and Ajloun at the beginning of 2020. 

For her part, Warning expressed her joy and relief at Jordanian-German cooperation and reiterated her country’s support to Jordan.