Jordan's Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation on Wednesday signed with the Japanese Embassy in Amman a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to give Jordan a soft loan of approximately US$196 million. Jordan's Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Imad Fakhoury, who signed the MoU with Japan's ambassador, Shuichi Sakurai, said the MoU was sealed by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to provide a $196 million soft loan for a 25-year term with a grace period of up to 7 years and an interest rate of 1.7 percent. Fakhoury said the agreement aims to improve the country's financial position and support its development policies by directly funding its budget.