Photo by: Jacquelyn Martin
President Obama announced late Friday night that the U.S. will provide a $1 billion loan guarantee to
Jordan, money meant to help the nation deal with the flood of refugees that have crossed over from
Syria to escape a bloody civil war.
Mr. Obama made the announcement during a bilateral meeting with
Jordan’s
King Abdullah II
at a private retreat in Rancho Mirage, Calif. The president also said
he intends to renew a five-year memorandum of understanding with
Jordan, worth about $360 million in direct economic support and another $300 million in military financing, according to the
White House.
Mr.
Obama said both the agreement and the $1 billion loan are designed to
help Jordanian economic development overall, but also said the
deteriorating situation in
Syria has placed a burden on
Jordan that other countries must help bear.
“The people of
Jordan
have been very generous in absorbing hundreds of thousands of
displaced persons from that war-ravaged country,” Mr. Obama said at
the outset of his meeting with the king. “It puts a great strain on
the resources of
Jordan and it’s very important for us to make sure that we’re supportive of the kingdom in accommodating all these refugees.”
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