UK–Jordan development partnership summary, July 2023
Published 17 July 2023
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Introduction
The UK’s International Development Strategy (IDS) places development at the heart of the UK’s foreign policy. It sets out a new approach to development, anchored in patient, long-term partnerships, tailored to the needs of the countries we work with, built on mutual accountability and transparency. This approach goes beyond aid and brings the combined power of the UK’s global economic, scientific, security and diplomatic strengths to our development partnerships. Our four priorities are to (1) deliver honest, reliable investment (2) provide women and girls with the freedom they need to succeed (3) step up our life-saving humanitarian work and (4) take forward our work on climate change, nature, and global health. The Integrated Review Refresh (IR23) reiterates that sustainable development is central to UK foreign policy and sets out how the UK will go further and faster on development to reduce poverty and reinvigorate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This Country Development Partnership Summary details how the IDS and IR23 will be put into practice with Jordan.
Country context
Jordan is one of the UK’s most trusted allies in the Middle East. With our close royal, political and security links, the relationship is a modern, dynamic partnership serving the interests of both countries. Jordan is a well-networked and active diplomatic player; a valuable and constructive voice in regional crises; a vital actor on security cooperation; and a host of many refugees from across the region.
Our trade relationship is growing. The total trade in goods and services (exports plus imports) between the UK and Jordan was £810 million in the 4 quarters to the end of the third quarter of 2022, an increase of 37.3% (£220 million) from the previous year. Of this, the total value of UK exports to Jordan is £561 million. Top goods exported to Jordan are industrial machinery, power generators, pharmaceuticals and electrical goods.
Domestically, Jordan’s biggest concern is its economy, with underlying challenges exacerbated by regional conflicts, COVID-19 and Russia’s war in Ukraine. Jordan has an impressive record on macroeconomic policy but unemployment is at 23%, living standards are under pressure and capital expenditure is squeezed.
Jordan hosts around three million refugees, with over 660,000 registered refugees from Syria and over 2 million registered refugees from the Occupied Palestinian Territories. This vital refugee-hosting role puts additional pressure on services and vital resources such as water, requiring significant international support to ensure that the needs of both refugees and vulnerable Jordanians can be met. This is a critical role in the region and reduces the risks of unsafe returns and onward illegal migration to Europe.
Development is a key element of our bilateral relationship, particularly since the start of the Syrian conflict. The UK remains committed to supporting refugees and we work to build sustainable national services that benefit refugees and vulnerable Jordanians alike. The UK is working to increase the economic self-reliance of refugees and to maintain stability in Jordan, an essential condition for growth. We are supporting Jordan to stay the course on its economic reforms, using UK expertise and encouraging Jordan to draw on all of its society, including women and refugees, to deliver the inclusive growth it needs to achieve the ambitious targets set out in its Economic Vision 2033.
Why and how: the UK’s development offer with Jordan
Our development efforts are focused on:
- supporting vulnerable people across the country
- improving access to education
- providing cash assistance and protection services to the most vulnerable refugees
- improving social protection for refugees and poor Jordanians
- driving economic reform and job creation; supporting Jordan’s stability and Women, Peace and Security priorities, and
- mainstreaming conflict sensitivity, climate and gender throughout our work, for example through the Gender Equality and Social Inclusion strategy and advisory board
Under the innovative 2016 Jordan refugee compact, refugees have access to primary health and general education services, as well as permission to work in a limited number of sectors. With few immediate prospects of safe returns to Syria, many refugees are likely to be in Jordan for the foreseeable future.
It is critical that our response evolves to address this protracted crisis and we are working with the Government of Jordan to embed a more sustainable approach that delivers better outcomes for refugees and poor Jordanians, and promotes self-reliance. The UK has led a series of sector deep dives, alongside the World Bank, to reflect on the successes and opportunities of the last ten years and we are talking with the Government of Jordan about how these lessons can inform the revision of the Jordan Response Plan that will happen this year.
We continue to provide cash assistance to cover the poorest refugees’ basic needs and use our support for the education sector and social protection systems to develop more efficient delivery mechanisms that can help all vulnerable people, regardless of their country of origin.
The UK supports Jordan to maintain its macroeconomic stability by providing targeted technical support to government, including the Ministry of Finance. Our work has helped Jordan to remain on track in delivering the milestones set out in its International Monetary Fund (IMF) Extended Fund Facility Programme, which has allowed Jordan to access concessional finance, deliver ambitious economic reforms and maintain a stable macroeconomic position.
More needs to be done to facilitate Syrian refugees’ access to the labour market to promote economic self-reliance and enable them to contribute to Jordan’s development. We use thought leadership to demonstrate the economic and social benefits of strengthening the economic inclusion and self-reliance of refugees in Jordan, and work to crowd in investment from others to create jobs and growth.
Who we work with
Our partners include national and international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) such as the Danish Refugee Council and Mercy Corps, and development experts like Oxford Policy Management, International Growth Centre, Palladium and DAI. We consult with civil society organisations and work closely with the US, EU and other donors to leverage maximum impact from our programming. We deliver through the UN system and International Financial Institutions, including UNHCR (the UN Refugee Agency), World Food Programme (WFP), UN Women, International Labour Organisation (ILO), International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and World Bank/IMF.
We provide direct financial support to parts of the Jordanian Government, including the Ministry of Education and the Social Security Corporation, to help them strengthen their systems to improve access to education and deliver lifesaving social protection to the most vulnerable Jordanians and refugees in the country.
UK government’s key bilateral programmes to support those priorities and what outcomes it hopes to achieve
| Programme | Campaign goal | Description of outcomes |
|---|---|---|
| Building Resilience, Inclusion and Diversity through Girls’ Education (BRIDGE) 2022 to 2025, £30 million | humanitarian, inclusion, and protection | This programme provides access to quality education for marginalised children, particularly girls, and supports learning recovery for 1.6 million host community and refugee children, ensuring inclusion is mainstreamed in Jordan’s education system through supporting access to education; improving quality of education; building societal and economic resilience; and maximising existing UK contributions |
| Multipurpose Humanitarian Cash Assistance to Refugees in Jordan 2019 to 2024, £80 million | humanitarian, inclusion, and protection | This programme supports the most vulnerable refugees through existing large-scale cash-transfer systems run by UNHCR and WFP, covering basic needs for rent, food and essential items like blankets for winter |
| Jordan Protection Programme to Support Vulnerable Refugees (JPP) 2021 to 2025, £15 million | humanitarian, inclusion, and protection | This programme is focused on increasing the capacity and quality of essential protection services for vulnerable people in Jordan, including children with disabilities and survivors of gender-based violence, through working with the Danish Refugee Council and a consortium of local service providers to strengthen national services and build sustainable service provision |
| Strengthening Social and Economic Resilience (SSERJ) 2022 to 2027, £95 million | humanitarian, inclusion, and protection | This programme is designed to expand contributory social insurance schemes through the Social Security Corporation to allow informal jobs to be formalised and to support vulnerable workers access social protection. It will provide technical assistance to build evidence and promote greater coherence and efficiency between national systems and those supporting refugees, as well as helping to make the national social protection system more gender and shock responsive. From 2024, the programme will provide large scale cash assistance to vulnerable refugees through WFP and UNHCR and support research to promote refugee economic inclusion and self-reliance |
| Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF) Shared Security and Stability Programme 2022 to 2025, about £40 million | shared security | This blended ODA/non-ODA programme delivers on the UK’s commitment to Jordanian security under the UK-Jordan strategic partnership, supporting security and stability, working with a cross-section of the Jordanian Armed Forces and the Public Security Directorate to become an effective force more capable and resilient against existing and evolving security threats, including terrorism, and a focus on engaging with youth and women through national civil society organisations |
| Jordan Investment and Economic Reform Advisory Programme (JIERAP) 2019 to 2025, £16.6 million | economy and prosperity | This programme enables the Government of Jordan to conduct reforms designed to stimulate equitable economic growth, increase jobs and investment, and reduce poverty. The UK supports these reforms through a Multi-Donor Trust Fund with the World Bank and provision of technical assistance to the Government of Jordan and the International Growth Centre |
| Jordan Compact Economic Opportunities Programme (JCEOP) 2016 to 2025, £216.5 million (including loan guarantee of £80 million) | economy and prosperity | This programme supports the Government of Jordan to deliver the transformative ‘Jordan Compact’ adopted at the 2016 Syria conference in London by strengthening Jordan’s economic growth agenda (including reforms, supporting infrastructure, creating income opportunities for young people) while maintaining stability through the protracted Syrian refugee crisis |
Which UK government programmes have been completed recently and the key achievements
The Jordan Compact Education Programme closed in 2021 having supported 150,000 refugee girls and boys each year to access a quality education in a safe, inclusive and tolerant environment in line with the Jordan Compact commitment. Key components of this programme have continued through BRIDGE (see table above). The Early Grade Reading and Maths programme (RAMP) will close in 2023, having improved the quality and equity of education provision for all early grade primary school children in Jordan, and improved refugee children’s psychosocial wellbeing and the wider social cohesion between Syrian refugees and host community children.
The Emergency Social Protection Jordan programme closed in 2022, having provided emergency assistance to support 300,000 Jordanian families who have been economically impacted by COVID-19 and supported 11,000 women access gender-based violence services. Key components of this programme are continued in SSERJ (see table above).
Notable work delivered through centrally managed, regional and partners across government (PAG) programmes
Through the World Bank P4R education reform programme, the UK provided a £19.5 million grant to support long-term education reform within the public education system. The Education Research in Conflict and Protracted Crisis (2012 to 2026) programme funds research on ‘what works’ to deliver education in these contexts.
Jordan has recognised the major threat that water scarcity poses to its future and that climate change and water are likely to be future drivers of instability. We are supporting Jordan’s green transition through the centrally managed PHENOMENAL climate programme which has provided £4 million for the development of an e-bus system in Jordan and £8 million to support improved wastewater infrastructure. We are exploring options for future support on tackling climate change (see below).
There are several food security research initiatives led by CGIAR active in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and while they aren’t all active in country the results they achieve are relevant to Jordan, for example the accelerated breeding initiative which delivers improved crop varieties, the livestock and climate initiative which seeks to build climate resilience among small-scale livestock keepers, and the Nexus Gains initiative looking at water use in drylands led by the International Water Management Institute.
In November 2022, the UK and Jordan signed a 2-year cooperation agreement between the UK Office of National Statistics and the Jordanian Department of Statistics to provide technical assistance in the fields of leadership management, national accounts and price indexes. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has also played a pivotal role in helping the Jordanian government to mobilise tax revenues, as part of an IMF-led reform programme. HMRC’s small-scale initiative aimed to boost tax collection by targeting a particular segment of taxpayers – cash traders. This initiative was later expanded to other sectors, ultimately leading to an overall enhancement in tax collection.
How the programme portfolio is changing to respond to new challenges and priorities
Poverty is increasing in refugee and host communities. Through the Strengthening Social and Economic Resilience and Jordan Protection Programme we are working to strengthen national systems that serve refugees and poor Jordanians alike to build a sustainable response. This has been acknowledged as an appropriate and effective response, including by the International Development Committee’s 2023 report into UK support for refugee-hosting countries.
Jordan is prepared to implement difficult economic reforms to achieve macroeconomic stability. As evidenced by the IMF’s EFF Monitoring Missions, this has ensured Jordan has a strong record on macroeconomic stability. However, growth remains low and unemployment remains high. In response, the UK is providing technical expertise through the Jordan Investment and Economic Reform Advisory Programme to enable the Government of Jordan to carry out reforms designed to stimulate equitable economic growth, increase jobs and investment, and reduce poverty.
We are exploring opportunities to help Jordan further adapt to climate change including possible investment in weather data (WISER) for Jordan and in the Aqaba-Amman Water Desalination and Conveyancing Project.
Approach to monitoring, evaluation and learning
Bilateral ODA programming in Jordan is designed to align with Jordan’s Economic Vision 2033 and key national priorities. It is also aligned with the specific campaign goals identified in our Country Business Plan and designed to deliver on His Majesty’s Government’s objectives, including those set out in the International Development Strategy. We use a range of monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) tools to track and understand where our funding adds value and supports delivery of development objectives, including in-house and external technical expertise, experts seconded into government ministries, adaptive programme management strategies and end of programme evaluations. For example, SSERJ and BRIDGE programmes include technical assistance components to support monitoring, evaluation and evidence generation during programme implementation which will allow us to adapt our approach in real time to meet shifting needs. We have also seconded a monitoring, evaluation and learning specialist from the UK government into the Reform Secretariat within the Jordanian Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation to build MEL capability, support the implementation of best practice and measure progress on implementation of economic reforms.
Evidence, lessons, and recommendations identified through formal review processes are used to inform our approach to both policy and programming. We seek to identify evidence gaps and target our funding where it can have the most impact. For example, monitoring data is generated against all our programming and used to improve performance, strengthen decision making and improve the lives of the most vulnerable people. Where possible, we ensure that this data is disaggregated to measure our impact across a range of groups.
Financial information
Initial allocations have been set internally to deliver the priorities set out in the International Development Strategy (May 2022) and the Integrated Review Refresh 2023, based on the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office’s (FCDO’s) Spending Review 2021 settlement.
The department’s spending plans for the period 2022-2023 to 2024-2025 have been revisited to ensure the UK government continues to spend around 0.5% of Gross National Income (GNI) on ODA. This was in the context of the significant and unexpected costs incurred to support the people of Ukraine and Afghanistan escape oppression and conflict and find refuge in the UK, and others seeking asylum. The government provided additional resources of £1 billion in 2022 to 2023 and £1.5 billion in 2023 to 2024 to help meet these unanticipated costs. The government remains committed to returning ODA spending to 0.7% of GNI when the fiscal situation allows, in line with the approach confirmed by the House of Commons in July 2021.
The country development partnership summaries include the breakdown of programme budgets allocated to individual countries for 2023-2024 and 2024-2025. These allocations are indicative and subject to revision as, by its nature, the department’s work is dynamic. Programme allocations are continually reviewed to respond to changing global needs, including humanitarian crises, fluctuations in GNI and other ODA allocation decisions.
It should be noted that these figures do not reflect the full range of UK ODA spending in these individual countries as they do not include spend delivered via core contributions to multilateral organisations, or regional programmes delivered by the FCDO’s central departments. Other UK Government departments also spend a large amount of ODA overseas. Details of ODA spent by other UK government departments can be found in their annual report and accounts and the Statistics for International Development.
FCDO Official Development Assistance allocation
Expected ODA budgets and FCDO sector spend (according to International Development Strategy sectors) for financial year 2023 to 2024 and financial year 2024 to 2025:
| FCDO Offical Development Assistance allocation financial year 2023 to 2024 | FCDO indicative Official Development Assistance allocation financial year 2024 to 2025 |
|---|---|
| £23 million (bilateral) | £53 million (bilateral) |
Figure 1. 2023 to 2024 bilateral Official Development Assistance spend: refugee response, 76%; security and stability, 19%; governance and economic development, 4%; climate, 1%
Of ODA spend in Jordan financial year 2022 to 2023, 70% is marked as being principally or significantly focused on promoting gender equality and 10% is marked as being principally or significantly focused on disability inclusion.