Obama pledges $1bn in annual aid to Jordan

Barack Obama has pledged $1bn in annual aid to Jordan, as the US president met with King Abdullah II in Washington on Friday to discuss the fight against the Islamic State (IS) group and other regional issues.

Obama said the war against IS is not only a military campaign, but also a diplomatic one, and highlighted Jordan’s participation in the fight in Syria and Iraq.

"Jordan is an important partner. We had an extensive discussion about how to debilitate and destroy [IS] both in Iraq and Syria. Jordan has been working on this side-by-side with US troops and other countries,” Obama said at a press conference following the meeting.

“We are making slow but steady progress, and we recognise that it is a long-term and extremely complex challenge."

Jordan, which borders Iraq’s western Anbar province, the majority of which is under the control of IS fighters, is one of five Arab countries taking part in the US-led military campaign.

Obama said the increased US support – effective from 2015 to 2017 – aims to boost "political and economic reforms that are taking place inside of Jordan".

Previously, the US provided Jordan with $660m per year.

King Abdullah, meanwhile, thanked Obama for the boost in aid, and likened the war on IS to “a third world war”.

"We really have to have a pan-regional approach to this issue. This is a Muslim problem. We need to take ownership of this," he told CBS television.

"It's clearly a fight between good and evil," Abdullah said.