Fakhoury attends EBRD Business Forum

AMMAN — Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Imad Fakhoury on Tuesday took part in the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Business Forum 2017 of the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean Region held under the title “Investing for Sustainable Growth”, a Planning Ministry statement said.

The forum, held in Cairo, saw the participation of EBRD governors of Egypt, Tunisia, Palestine, Lebanon’s deputy governor and the Morrocan ambassador, in addition to policymakers, investors and businesspeople.

The event aimed to discuss regional issues focusing on the obstacles that are hindering the expected economic growth, the minister said, highlighting the importance of Jordan’s participation as a member in the bank and a beneficiary of the bank’s investments and aid, the statement read.

Fakhoury, who is Jordan’s governor in the bank, said that the Kingdom is scheduled to head EBRD’s board of governors’ annual meeting that will be held in Jordan 2018.

The planning minister said that the bank understands the additional challenges faced by some of the region’s countries due to hosting the Syrian refugees and voiced his appreciation for the bank’s support in providing financial support with concessional terms, in addition to grants, according to the statement.

Fakhoury briefed the participants on the economic situation in the Kingdom, stressing that the economic growth dropped from 6 to around 2 per cent over the past seven years and that unemployment rose from 12 to 18 per cent.

The minister also presented Jordan’s success story with the bank, pointing out that the volume of operations rose to more than $1 billion in the last three years, including private sector operations by more than 90 per cent. This support has also greatly contributed to strengthening Jordan’s resilience during one of Jordan’s most difficult periods, the statement read. 

Fakhoury said that Jordan has been able to develop a successful model of public-private partnerships in the region with an investment volume of more than $10 billion in the last 10 years for projects in the sectors of power generation, water and sanitation, renewable energy, transport, infrastructure and urban development.

He outlined Jordan’s experience in implementing successful projects in partnership with the private sector such as renewable energy projects ($2 billion of projects have been launched over the past three years in the form of a partnership between the public and private sectors), all of which contribute to achieving the objectives of the National Energy Strategy in Jordan. 

In accordance with Jordan Plan to Stimulate Economic Growth 2018-2022, there will be a significant number of priority projects in the field of infrastructure worth $15 billion, which constitute important investment opportunities to be implemented in the form of public-private partnership in the sectors of energy, renewable energy, electricity, transport, ICT, water, sanitation, solid waste, urban development and green economy, according to the minister.

On the sidelines of the forum, Fakhoury met officials from EBRD including the Bank’s President Suma Chakrabarti and other officials, who are involved in cooperation with Jordan, and a number of the bank’s managers in the sectors of infrastructure, transport, energy and natural resources.