The German government will forgive 27 million euros (37 million dollars) of Jordanian debt under a debt swap agreement signed in Amman Tuesday, dpa quoted an official statement as saying. The accord was signed by Finance Minister Mohammad Abu Hammour, the German ambassador in Amman, Ralf Tarraf, and a representative for the German Reconstruction Bank (KfW). The amount will be used to finance the public budget deficit as well as education development projects, including the German-Jordan University, Abu Hammour said. The signing of the agreement, which involved a 50-per-cent discount of the original debt, represented "the common desire to boost bilateral ties between the two friendly countries, particularly in the spheres of social and economic development," the minister said. He pointed out that the Jordanian government was seeking similar debt-for-projects swap agreements with other creditor countries in a bid to tackle the country's growing budget deficit and cut its foreign indebtedness. Since 1995, 10 debt swap agreements were signed between the two countries, with Germany writing off a total amount of 234 million euros of Jordanian debt. An agreement was signed last month under which Germany extended 100 million euros in economic aid to Jordan.
