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MAKKAH / WAM
The UAE, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have agreed to provide a $2.5 billion economic aid package to Jordan, to help the country which is facing an economic crisis following anti-austerity protests.
The announcement was made in a joint statement following an emergency summit of the four nations which was held in Makkah.
The meeting was hosted by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud at Al-Safa Palace with His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein of Jordan, and Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah of Kuwait to discuss ways to help Jordan overcome the crisis.
The package will include a deposit in the Central Bank of Jordan, World Bank guarantees for Jordan, annual support for the Jordanian Government’s budget over five years, and financing from funds for developmental projects.
The Jordanian King expressed his appreciation to the three Gulf nations for providing the aid to ease the country’s economic crisis.
Mohammed, Emir of Kuwait discuss regional issues
MAKKAH / WAM
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, met His Highness the Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah of Kuwait at Al Diyafa Palace in Makkah, on the sidelines of the Quartet meeting, that includes Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait and Jordan.
Sheikh Mohamed and the Emir of Kuwait exchanged views about the initiative of by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud who called for holding the meeting to discuss the necessary steps to support a brotherly and important country, Jordan, to address the exceptional situation there.
They praised the initiative which mirrors the vital role of the Kingdom and stressed the participant countries’ keenness to provide all the possible support for Jordan to overcome this transient crisis.
The Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai hailed the great role played by Kuwait to support various issues of concern to the peoples of the region both in its GCC and in its broader Arab surroundings, while noting the deep-rooted fraternal relations between the two countries and peoples of the UAE and Kuwait.
The meeting also tackled the overall situation in the region, the political and security developments witnessed by a number of its countries and ways to deal with its results and repercussions in an effective manner that safeguard their security and stability and enables them to continue their development process to serve the aspirations of their peoples and ensure a distinguished position globally.
Among those who attended the meeting were HH Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation; Mohammad bin Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs and The Future; Abdul Rahman bin Mohammad bin Nasser Al Owais, Minister of Health and Prevention; Sheikh Shakhbout bin Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, UAE Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and Khalifa Saeed Suleiman, Director- General of the Department of Protocol and Hospitality in Dubai.