IMF says talks on budgetary grants ongoing

AMMAN — The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Thursday reaffirmed its continued support to the Kingdom as it works to encourage the international community to boost financial aid packages, in order to enable Jordan to face its “external” challenges, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

Responding to a question by Petra, IMF spokesperson Gerry Rice said during a press conference in Washington that IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde’s attendance of the “Grow Jordan” conference in London conveyed a positive message.

It came to show how important Jordan is to the IMF, he added.

“Over the last several years, Jordan has undertaken significant efforts to maintain economic stability, including policy reforms against a very difficult external environment. And despite internal socioeconomic tensions, Jordan continues to face considerable challenges, growth is slow, unemployment is high, particularly for youth and women, and the country’s public deficit and debt levels are very high, while the refugee crisis continues to place extraordinary strains on Jordan’s economy.”

“Jordan needs additional financial support, particularly in the form of budgetary grants,” he underlined, adding that Lagarde campaigned strongly during the conference in favour of granting the Kingdom aid packages to support its budget.

“We expect discussions on increasing external support for Jordan to continue in the coming days,” he highlighted.