Jordan in pact with IMF for $1.3 bln 4-year aid package

Jordanian officials reached an agreement with the International Monetary Fund on a $1.3 billion, four-year aid program to help authorities stabilize the economy, the IMF announced on Thursday.

The loan, which must be approved by the board of the Washington-based crisis lender, will help the government bring down public debt and spending gradually while supporting economic growth, as the country hosts an influx of Syrian refugees, the IMF said in a statement.

The aid program “will reinforce the authorities’ ambitious macroeconomic and structural reform agenda for the next four years,” IMF mission chief Chris Jarvis said.

In December, the country’s finance minister said a new IMF deal would secure lower servicing costs for the $42 billion in public debt that the country holds, which has spiraled in the last decade as a result of the spillover of regional conflicts on its economy.