The Jordanian kingdom ran a 4.89 billion Jordanian dinar ($6.9 billion) external public debt by February-end 2002, a slight 1.46 percent drop compared to the corresponding period the previous year, when external debt stood at JD4.97 billion, according to official figures recently published by the Jordanian Finance Ministry.
During the same period the kingdom’s domestic debt surged by 3.5 percent—from JD1.119 billion in February-end 2001 to JD1.203 billion this year. The Kingdom's total debt thus amounted to JD6.099 billion by the end of February 2002, down from JD6.088 billion at the end of February 2001.
Total external debt service during the first two months of 2002 totaled JD64 million, of which JD44.5 million were in principal payment and JD19.5 million in interest payment. France is Jordan's second largest external creditor nation after Japan. Jordan signed various debt-swap agreements over the past few years with France, Spain, Britain, Germany and Italy, to exchange the debt for development and investment projects in Jordan. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
