Labour Minister Yousef Shamali and US Ambassador to Jordan Henry T. Wooster on Monday discussed bilateral cooperation in the field of labour.

Shamali highlighted the deep Jordanian-American ties, emphasising the need for proceeding with joint work towards supporting the labour system, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra. 

The minister also expressed appreciation of USAID’s contributions through offering $40 million in assistance to the sustainability programme, "Estidama”.

The "Estidama” programme, launched by the government in partnership with the Social Security Corporation (SSC), works to maintain workforce stability, alleviate economic burdens of private sector businesses and hard-hit sectors by the coronavirus pandemic, as well as those who were not allowed to operate during the downturn.

The envoy expressed his country’s keenness on enhancing partnership and coordination with Jordan, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

He also reiterated Washington’s keenness on continuing coordination with Amman to overcome the impact of the pandemic on the labour market, notably addressing unemployment through support programmes aimed to create new employment opportunities for Jordanians.