Jordan, Japan sign grant agreement

The Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation signed on Wednesday a $20 million grant agreement with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), that will help in the rehabilitation and expansion of water networks in the Blaqa governorate.
The agreement was signed by the Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, Ibrahim Saif and JICA's main representative in Amman, Sukihi Sakata.
The Japanese government, in the light of the intensive contacts that took place during the recent royal visit to Japan, has provided Jordan a second grant of $1.75 million for the purchase of equipment and supplies to raise the performance of the Department of Meteorology, in addition to Japan's announcement to provide Jordan a soft loan of $150 million to support development.
Between 1999 and 2014, Japan has granted the Kingdom about $764.42 million, of which $430 million represented grants and the rest were soft loans, in addition to technical aid given through the JICA.