AMMAN: The government and the World Bank (WB) on Tuesday signed a financing agreement to fund a programme to reform the education sector in Jordan with a value of $200 million.
The agreement was signed by Planning and International Cooperation Minister Imad Fakhoury and Vice President of the World Bank for Middle East and North Africa Hafez Ghanem.
The signing ceremony was attended by Minister of Education Omar Razzaz and representatives of the main donor countries and organisations in the Kingdom.
In his remarks at the event, Fakhoury said that the agreement includes $147.7 million to be extended as a concessional loan from the WB blended with a contribution from the Global Concessional Financing Facility (GCFF) for $52.3 million that was approved by the GCFF Steering Committee at the end of October.
The repayment period of the loan extends over thirty five years and includes a grace period of five years and a favourable interest rate, said the minister.
He pointed out that the funding will be directed to the general budget with a value of $192 million. It also includes a technical support component for the Education Ministry worth $8 million in line with the National Strategy for Human Resource Development 2016,2025.
