US pledges over $1 billion in annual aid to Jordan

The US is to send aid worth over $1 billion a year to Jordan under a deal signed Wednesday (February 14th) by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, AFP reported.

The agreement, worth $1.3 billion a year from 2018 until 2022, boosts the annual US aid package to the kingdom by $275 million.

The deal commits the US to providing at least $750 million a year in economic support and $350 million in military aid.

Jordan is one of the world's largest recipients of US aid, having received over $20 billion since 1951. The kingdom also relies heavily on aid from the EU and Saudi Arabia.

Its economy has been battered by the conflicts in neighbouring Iraq and Syria and its public debt stands at around $35 billion.

The US has separately provided nearly $1.1 billion in humanitarian aid to support Syrian refugees in Jordan.

The kingdom hosts around 650,000 Syrians who fled their country since March 2011, as well as a further 700,000 who entered Jordan before the conflict.

Amman says the Syrian crisis has cost it more than $10 billion.

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