Jordan, Italy sign development cooperation framework agreement

AMMAN — Planning and International Cooperation Minister Imad Fakhoury and Italian Ambassador to Jordan Giovanni Brauzzi on Sunday signed the Development Cooperation Framework Agreement between the Government of Jordan and the Government of Italy, a Planning Ministry statement said.

The agreement sets the criteria through which Italy will support Jordan in implementing development programmes and pursuing development goals, and is set to replace the previous agreement on technical cooperation signed in Amman on June 1965, according to Fakhoury.

The minister said that the agreement focuses on enhancing development cooperation between the two countries, supporting Jordanian national strategies and raising the efficiency of Italian aid provided to Jordan in line with international principles and commitments stemming from Italy’s membership in the EU. The agreement also includes establishing a three-year aid programme defining priority sectors and projects.

He expressed Jordan’s appreciation to Italy’s focus on the Kingdom as a priority country for Italian development aid in recognition of its regional role and the burdens it is shouldering due to external shocks. 

Fakhoury thanked Italy for its continued support, noting that it is one of Jordan’s most important partners in the development and reform process, which has been contributing to the support of vital sectors such as water, sanitation, tourism, education and other priority sectors, the statement said. 

For his part, Brauzzi stressed that the Italian government not only wanted to limit the resumption of aid to the humanitarian dimension, but also to support the development requirements of Jordan. He stressed the strong partnership between Jordan and Italy, which he attributed to the strong relations between the leaderships of the two friendly countries.

The ambassador affirmed his government’s commitment to continue supporting Jordan’s economic resilience during these exceptional and difficult circumstances and to enable it to overcome the challenges resulting from the Syrian refugee crisis, the statement concluded.