Swedish Development Co-Operation with Jordan

Jordan is part of Sida’s regional development cooperation programme for the MENA region, which is guided by the “Strategy for Development Cooperation with the Middle East and North Africa, January 2006 – December 2008, Ministry for Foreign Affairs”. (See Facts for document.) It is anticipated that the budget of the regional programme will increase to SEK 200 million during 2009.

The strategy gives priority to the following areas of work:

• to promote democracy and good governance, e.g. by taking steps to promote the emergence of a strong civil society
• to promote respect for human rights, including equal rights, conditions and opportunities for women and girls, and to encourage the development of regional networks and of structures and dialogue on rights perspective and basic universal values
• to promote the sustainable use of water resources, focusing in particular on regional and transboundary water issues, from both a poverty reduction and a conflict prevention viewpoint
• to promote regional economic development and growth, particularly capacity-enhancing measures to strenghten trade policy skills and supply capacity in a regional perspective
  

On-going activities

Jordan is part of the following Sida supported regional cooperation initiatives:

Democracy, human rights, culture and media:

• Cultural Cooperation in the Area of Performing Arts (Dramatic Institute)
• Children’s Literature (Anna Lindh Foundation) 
• Adolescents: Agents of Positive Change (UNICEF)
• Human Rights Training in the MENA Region (Raoul Wallenberg Institute)
• Capacity Building for the National Centre of Human Rights (UNDP)
• Support to the New Human Rights Foundation and Website (Euromediteranean Human Rights Foundation)
• Regional Training Programme on the Human Rights of Women (Raoul Wallenberg Institute)
• A Civil Society for Child rights in the MENA region (Swedish Save the Children)
• Regional Cooperation with Women’s Organisations (Kvinna till Kvinna)
• Arab Women Parlamentarians (UNIFEM)
• Arab Ombudsman Network (National Council for Human Rights, Egypt)
• Governance and Investment for Development (OECD, UNDP)
• Juvenile Justice (Penal Reform International)

Sustainable Use of Water Resources, including Climate Change:

• Read Sea – Dead Sea Water Conveyance Feasibility Study and Environmental and Social Assessment (World Bank)
• ‘Good Water Neighbours’ project (Friends of the Earth Middle East)
• International Training Programme on Transboundary Water Management, MENA region (Ramböll/SIWI/University of Jordan)

Regional Economic Development and Trade Capacity:

• Negotiating Trade Agreements, Principles and Practises, International Training Programme (the Swedish Board for Accreditation and Conformity Assessment (SWEDAC)
• Quality Infrastructure Development in Support of World Trade, International Training Programme, (the Swedish Board for Accreditation and Conformity Assessment (SWEDAC)
• Quality Infrastructure for Food Safety, International Training Programme (the Swedish National Food Administration (NFA) and Swedish Board for Accreditation and Conformity Assessment (SWEDAC)
• Trade Policy support, initial trade policy workshop to establish a regional programme to support the signatory countries to the Agadir Agreement (Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco).

In addition, the following bilateral agreement is in force:

• As-Samra Wastewater Treatment Plant Project (SWECO)