The countries have put together a $2.5 billion aid package.
The UAE is known to be extremely generous, including rushing humanitarian aid wherever and whenever necessary.
It’s little surprise then that in April, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) named UAE, for the fifth consecutive year, as the world’s largest donor of development assistance in proportion to its gross national income.
Another example of its willing humanitarian aid lies in the fact that last month when a devastating cyclone struck the Socotra island, the Emirates Aid Crescent dispatched three aid ships with thousands of tonnes of basic food items and relief equipment.
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Now, the UAE has pledged its support for its regional ally Jordan.
According to a report on Gulf Business, austerity measures which involved subsidy cuts and price hikes resulted in thousands of Jordanians taking to the streets for a peaceful protest last week.
King Abdullah II of Jordan moved quickly to diffuse the situation by removing the prime minister who introduced the measures and then appointed a new prime minister, Omar al-Razzaz, whose first priority was to roll back what has predecessor had set in motion.
However, rescinding those measures meant that Jordan would find it difficult to meet the conditions of an IMF financing program, which is why King Abdullah II along with his son headed to Makkah on Saturday at the invitation of Saudi Arabia’s King Salman.
On Sunday, the Jordanian king and his entourage met with King Salman, Kuwait’s Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber al-Sabah and HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai and Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE.
By the end of the meeting, Jordan’s three allies in the region, agreed to a $2.5 billion aid package which would be spread across deposits in Jordan’s central bank, budget support for the next five years, development projects and guarantees to the World Bank.
Jordan and the UAE have enjoyed particularly close ties for a long time now. HH Sheikh Mohammed’s wife, Princess Haya, is the sister of King Abdullah II.
Crown prince Hussein of Jordan who accompanied his father on the trip to Saudi Arabia also recently met with HH Sheikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, at the Al Bateen Palace in Abu Dhabi a fortnight ago.
Evidently by way of the announcement of this new aid package, the ties between Jordan and the UAE exists in words, as much as it does in deed.
Images: Instagram
