Jordan may benefit from G-8 aid to region

Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Jafar Hassan on Tuesday met with French Minister of International Cooperation Henri de Raincourt and discussed economic and development cooperation between the two countries. Hassan also discussed with several officials from the French Development Agency (AFD) a medium-term programme for bilateral cooperation over the upcoming three years. During his visit to Paris, Hassan discussed the French aid programme to Jordan, including soft loans and the support for small and medium-sized businesses. Hassan also met with the French president’s diplomatic adviser Jean-David Levitte, who is currently responsible for the G-8 file. Levitte voiced France’s willingness, as a G-8 member and current leader of the group, to include the Kingdom as a main beneficiary along with Egypt and Tunisia of the G-8 plan to aid Arab countries, in appreciation of His Majesty King Abdullah’s efforts in seeking economic and political reform, the statement said.