Nayrouz News Agency : Jordan and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) on Sunday signed a grant agreement of $2 million to boost public-private partnership projects in various fields, including transport, water services, education, healthcare and tourism.

The agreement, the "first of its kind” in the Middle East, was signed by Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Wissam Rabadi and Dalia Wahbeh, IFC manager for Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq, according to a Planning Ministry statement.

The two sides will take part in a new three-year initiative under the theme "credit facility for projects preparation”, with the aim of supporting the Prime Ministry’s public-private partnership department.

The initiative will establish a fund to develop the projects in order to ease the preparation and implementation of partnership project investments, the statement said.

It aims at stimulating the private sector to provide the investments and funding needed for improving infrastructure and enhancing the Kingdom’s competitiveness and ability to confront crises.

Under the agreement, the IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, will support the Prime Ministry’s public-private partnership department, which is responsible for coordinating the government’s efforts to increase the private sector’s participation in infrastructure projects, Rabadi said in the statement, lauding the partnership between Jordan and the IFC .

The public-private partnership programme aims to attract the private sector to become a "true partner and strong ally” working side-by-side with the government in developing financial and social infrastructure, he added.

Wahbeh, for her part, said that the agreement shows the Kingdom’s commitment to continuing its reforms and empowering the economy to become more flexible in confronting the present economic challenges.

The agreement falls within the IFC’s strategy to establish new markets, which opens new sectors to private-sector investments, enhances economic growth, improves provided services and creates jobs, she added.