On January 30 2020, the IMF reached a Staff-Level agreement with the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan for a four year Extended Fund Facility. This programme had been negotiated by the newly appointed Minister of Finance – HE Mohamad Al Issis and the Central Bank of Jordan, with a focus on restoring the growth trajectory of the country, after 3 years of fiscal adjustment necessitated by war in Syria. Weeks after the signing of this agreement, the World was hit by a new exogenous shock in the form of the Covid Pandemic which locked down the economy and resulted in a necessary sharp increase in the fiscal budget. Despite this the IMF programme and its objectives remained in place even when Jordan was hit by the global inflation shock and the fallout from the Russia-Ukraine war. This week, as HE Al Issis prepares his 5th annual budget, the Kingdom concluded the 7th review under the programme and announced a new Staff Level Agreement on a new Four-Year EFF programme.
The successful completion of the 2020 programme and the signing of a new programme is testament to the commitment of Jordan to ensure that it remains a rock of stability in the Middle East, a rock that has meant that the country could withstand the series of exogenous shocks that have continued to impact the region and the World over the past decade. In light of recent events in the region, Jordan’s stability remains critically important. We congratulate the Kingdom and the IMF on reaching this new agreement, and the signal of confidence that it gives not only to Jordan’s partners and the international markets but also its citizens that the stability Jordan affords to them will continue. Lion’s Head Global Partners is proud to have supported the Kingdom throughout the 2020 programme and wishes the Kingdom every success for its new EFF.
For more information visit: https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2023/11/09/pr23386-Jordan-IMF-Reaches-Staff-Level-Agreement-Jordan-New-Arrangement-Extended-Fund-Facility
