NATO Launches Project to Boost Jordan's Defense Capacity

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - NATO has launched a three-year project to boost Jordan's capacity for defense and crisis management, the alliance said Monday in a press release.

"NATO launched a Defence Capacity Building Project on 'Enhancing Jordan’s capacity for Crisis Management, Continuity of Government and Exercises' on Monday (19 February 2018)," the press release read.

The three-year project will help the Jordanian National Center for Security and Crisis Management work at its fullest operational capacity.

Acording to the statement, the project was made possible through the contributions of four NATO members, the Netherlands, Germany, Norway, and Turkey. Jordan is not a member of NATO. However, it is a major ally of the alliance.

Previous year, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing Arab diplomats, that Donald Trump's administration has been approaching Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Egypt through their diplomatic missions in Washington with proposals to form a US-backed defense pact to counter Iran's influence in the region.

The alliance was expected to adopt a collective response clause, a similar to the NATO's Article 5 agreement to protect each other in case of external attack. If established, the bloc would also share intelligence with Israel and receive increased US military aid.