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JORDAN

France loans Jordan €150 million

The French Development Agency inked a deal with the Jordanian government on Monday to provide the kingdom with a soft loan of €150 million ($193 million) to support its battered budget.

Published: 24 September 2012 17:39 CEST
France loans Jordan €150 million
Photo: Charlie Phillips

Amman, which is trying hard to offset a $3 billion deficit in this year's $9.6 billion budget, is expected to receive €100 million next month and the remaining next year, Jordan's planning ministry said.

The €150 million euros are part of the 2011-2013 loan agreement between the two countries according to which France will offer Jordan a total of €600 million in loan.

The ministry said the French agency will also grant Amman €1.6 million to support water projects in Jordan, one of the world's 10 driest countries, with 92% of its territory desert.

The International Monetary Fund in August issued a $2 billion loan for Jordan to steady its economy.

Separately, Amman has appealed for $700 million in global aid to cope with hosting more than 200,000 Syrian refugees who have fled the violence in their country.

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JORDAN

Pope to meet Jordan King Abdullah

Pope Francis will meet Jordan's King Abdullah II at the Vatican next week, the Holy See announced on Friday, as Palestinians continue to clash with Israeli forces over US President Donald Trump's decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

Published: 16 December 2017 10:09 CET
Pope to meet Jordan King Abdullah
Pope Francis. Photo: Vincenzo Pinto/AFP

Demonstrations and violence broke out across the Palestinian territories for the second Friday in a row after the end of weekly Muslim prayers.

Two Palestinians were shot and killed by Israeli forces in clashes along the Gaza-Israel border, the Palestinian health ministry said.

The pope and King Abdullah, the custodian of the Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem's Old City, are likely to discuss the situation, though the Vatican never indicates topics of discussion for such meetings in advance.

On Sunday the pope called for “respect of the status quo” in Jerusalem and warned against “a new spiral of violence”.

Abdullah has denounced the Jerusalem announcement as “a violation of international rights”.

Jerusalem, which contains sites considered sacred by Christians, Jews and Muslims, is of huge importance to both Israel and the Palestinians.

Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital, and his plans to move the US embassy there from Tel Aviv, effectively ignores Palestinian claims on the city and has led to widespread criticism and protest, particularly in the Arab world.

Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem has never been recognised internationally, and all countries maintain their embassies in Tel Aviv.

The UN has long maintained that the only way to forge peace is to have two states — Israel and Palestine — with Jerusalem as the capital of both and the borders returned to their status before the 1967 Arab-Israeli War.

East Jerusalem was annexed by Israel after the war, but before Trump's announcement it had not been internationally recognised as part of Israel.