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Amman / WAM
His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and King Abdullah II of Jordan, on Tuesday attended the signing of a $100 million agreement to finance micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Hashemite Kingdom.
The agreement, signed at Al Husseiniya Palace by Khalifa Fund for Enterprise Development and Jordan’s Crown Prince Foundation, is aimed to support entrepreneurship and underpin the Jordanian government’s efforts to ensure a stable and balanced economy.
It targets financing around 22,000 projects over five years and creating around 28,000 job opportunities for Jordanian you-th. Women-focussed projects account for 47 percent of develop- ments, with rural areas getting 40 percent of the finance.
The $100 million agreement states that both countries will support creativity and innovation and develop entrepreneurship in line with their respective national strategies, taking into account the national regulations and policies in the UAE and Jordan.
Under the agreement, both parties undertake to implement major programmes and special initiatives to support innovation and the growth of microfinance and SMEs, in addition to contributing effectively to building the capacities of women, youth and people from disadvantaged areas, with the aim of fueling an entrepreneurial culture among the youth.