Gov’t to engage all stakeholders in 10-year economic blueprint

AMMAN — As directed by His Majesty King Abdullah, the government on Saturday pledged to complete the formulation of a 10-year blueprint for economic development by the end of this year.

On March 29, the King sent a letter to Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour directing the government to prepare a plan that would result in a stronger economy, in both macroeconomic and monetary aspects, and ensure consistency, increased competitiveness, productivity and self-reliance.

The ultimate goal, His Majesty said, is to achieve comprehensive development and ensure Jordanians get a “decent living and hope for a better future”.

“This economic blueprint should have a comprehensive framework that targets the following: enhancing financial and monetary policies and assuring their consistency; improving economic competitiveness; enhancing values of high productivity and self-reliance to realise sustainable and comprehensive development,” the Monarch said.   

On Saturday, Ensour sent a reply letter to His Majesty, pledging to complete the task before the end of this year and stressed that the envisioned economic plan will be based on guidelines the King set in his letter to the government  (see full text).

“The Cabinet and I assure Your Majesty that we will work diligently to prepare this blueprint, adopting a participatory approach based on openness to all of the country’s social and economic stakeholders, including government agencies, Parliament, the private sector, civil society organisations and other national entities.”

“Through this approach, the blueprint will be the fruit of a collective national endeavour, where all stakeholders have an active role to play, not only its drafting, but also in the process of its implementation and follow-up. We will work on institutionalising the role of the private sector, to further emphasise the important part it plays in development.”

In the letter, a copy of which was sent to The Jordan Times, Ensour said: “As we prepare this blueprint for the future of the Jordanian economy, which will be completed before the end of this year, we will identify the roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders, during both the drafting and implementation stages. The blueprint will be formulated by technical committees represented by all concerned sectors. It will harness all available expertise, locally and internationally, in order to produce an outcome that will be a national achievement for Jordan, in line with best international practices.”

“The blueprint will complement the government’s action plan and programmes for the years 2013-2016, which we presented to the 17th Parliament in its non-ordinary session,” Ensour said, adding that it will also be aligned with other national fiscal and economic reform programmes.

“Based on Your Majesty’s letter, the vision aims to position Jordan as a regional hub of economic activities, capitalising on the relative advantages of certain sectors, such as transportation and energy, pharmaceuticals, mining, tourism and education services, information technology, healthcare, design and architecture and consultation, engineering, financial, banking and logistic services. Hopefully, these sectors will be the drivers of development in the coming decade.”

Ensour set the objectives of the envisioned plan to include, among others, boosting economic growth, achieving fiscal stability, expanding the middle class, reducing public debt, enhance the business and investment environment, revisiting the role of the private sector in terms of its size and the nature of its contribution to the development process.

He also highlighted that the plan would give attention to other aspects like human resources, vocational training, decentralisation and the needs of people with special disabilities.