Japan grants $6.7m to build museum in Jordan

 Japan on Saturday signed a USD 6.7 million grant agreement with Jordan to build the Petra Archaeological Museum in the ancient city of Petra.Jordan's Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Ibrahim Saif and Japanese Ambassador to Jordan Junichi Kosuge have signed the agreement. Minister of Labor and Minister of Tourism Nidal Qatamin and President of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Jordan's office, Toshiaki Tanaka attended the signing ceremony.Minister Qatamin said the museum goal is to display the ancient city's antiquities that represent the different civilizations in Petra.For his part, the Japanese ambassador said the museum would contribute towards supporting the tourism development.Meanwhile, Japan has provided USD 420.7 million to Jordan, of which USD 360.7 million are in the form of grants and the rest in the form of soft loans, as well as technical assistance provided to Jordan by JICA.