WASHINGTON: The International Monetary Fund yesterday issued a $2 billion loan for Jordan to steady the country’s battered economy and protect it from external “shocks” in the region.

The IMF executive board approved the three-year loan, making $385.35 million immediately available, the fund said in a statement.

The remaining amount will be phased in, subject to quarterly reviews of the economy’s performance under the so-called Stand-By Arrangement.

The IMF noted that the loan, requested by the Jordanian authorities, represents “exceptional access” to the fund’s resources, amounting to 800 percent of Jordan’s financial commitment to the institution.

Flanked by a circle of instability, Jordan has been ravaged by spluttering natural gas supplies from revolutionary Egypt and a flood of refugees crossing the border from war-torn Syria.

In addition, large financing needs to protect consumers from the increase in energy prices in 2011 were further deepened in 2012 by the need to provide housing and medical services to refugees from Syria.

The Daily Sun/Bangladesh/ 5th Aug 2012