US grants Jordan 100,000 tonnes of wheat worth $25 million

AMMAN — The US will provide Jordan with 100,000 tonnes of wheat under a grant agreement for 2015 signed Sunday, according to the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation.

The agreement is part of the Food for Progress Programme that the US government is implementing, according to statements from the ministry and the US embassy.

Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Imad Fakhoury and US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack signed the agreement.

The 100,000 tonnes of US wheat are valued at approximately $25 million. 

The government will use proceeds from the sale of the wheat to implement projects aimed at improving agricultural productivity and stimulating economic growth, the embassy said.

Fakhoury noted that revenues generated from selling the wheat will be included in the Budget Law to fund a development project in agriculture and irrigation that will be agreed upon later, according to the ministry.

“Jordan is one of our most effective, capable and steadfast partners not only in the Middle East, but around the world,” the embassy statement quoted Vilsack as saying. 

“USDA’s [the US Department of Agriculture’s] food assistance will be used to relieve some of the economic burden that Jordan is facing as a result of the hundreds of thousands of Syrians who’ve been displaced because of the Syrian civil war.”

Fakhoury expressed Jordan’s gratitude for the US’ continuous support, which “reflects the advanced level of cooperation and strategic partnership between the two countries”. 

Vilsack said Jordan and the US recently signed a memorandum of understanding under which Washington will provide assistance worth $1 billion over the next three years.

Prior to this agreement, Jordan had received two “exceptional wheat grants” from the US government in 2011 and 2012, each amounting to some 50,000 tonnes, within the framework of the Food for Progress Programme, according to the ministry. 

The first grant was worth $19 million and was directed to support the state budget, while the second was worth $17 million and was utilised to implement priority agricultural projects according to the Budget Law, including the Karak Dam, currently under construction.

The Food for Progress Programme “helps developing countries and emerging democracies modernise and strengthen their agricultural sectors”, according to the embassy.

Fakhoury and Vilsack also discussed bilateral ties and the economic repercussions of the Syrian crisis on Jordan.

The minister reviewed the 2015 Jordan Response Plan, stressing the need to increase financial support for Jordan to enable it to continue to host Syrian refugees.

Fakhoury also briefed the US official on the Jordan 2025 Blueprint.

In 2014, the US committed $633.02 million to Jordan, including $436 million as support to the budget, and $197.02 million for funding priority projects and sectors through USAID and the concerned ministries, according to the ministry statement.