France converts part of the Jordanian debts into investments

The Jordanian News agency Petra announced that France and Jordan signed in Paris on Thursday an agreement on transferring part of the Jordanian debt at a value of USD 33 million into investments.

The agreement was signed by the Jordanian minister of finance Michael Martu and the French minister of the economy Laurent Fabous. Prior to his visit to Paris, Martu held talks with British officials in London on alleviating the Jordanian debts.

The Paris Club decided in May, 1999 the alleviation of Jordan's debts at more than USD 800 million. Jordan tries to alleviate foreign debts estimated at USD 9.6 billion, which burdens the Jordanian budget whose deficit is estimated at USD 610 million for 2002.