Jordan gets MCA Threshold Program...Two More on Way

On September 12, 2006, MCC approved a $25 million Threshold Program for Jordan. Jordan's Threshold Program aims to improve the country's performance on three of the indicators it failed in FY 2006: Political Rights, Voice and Accountability, and Trade Policy. Specifically, it will involve two components:

• Strengthening Municipal Governance: increasing public participation and awareness, promoting women’s involvement in electoral politics, building local government capacity, and encouraging local government responsiveness
• Modernizing the Customs Administration: streamlining the customs process, training customs officials, and upgrading hardware and software

This may be just the first of phase of MCC's relationship with Jordan, as it is anticipated that Jordan, an LMIC, will be selected for compact eligibility in November's FY 2007 selection. Recall that last year, although Jordan fully passed the indicators, the Board deemed it eligible only for Threshold Program finance.MCC also announced that they expect to sign Threshold Program agreements with Indonesia and Moldova before the end of the year. We're looking forward to hearing more about these two.