Petra-hosted discussion offers insight into Jordan’s reform process

AMMAN — The Jordan News Agency, Petra, on Tuesday hosted a discussion on Jordan’s political, economic and administrative modernisation with the participation of  Minister of Government Communications Faisal Shboul and Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Zeina Toukan.

Attended by the heads and editors-in-chief of daily newspapers, the discussion is part of a series of national dialogues to be conducted by the Ministry of Government Communications, via Petra, to shed light on reformative steps taken by the Kingdom.

Shboul referred to the recent visit of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Shia Al Sudani to the Kingdom as well as his meeting with His Majesty King Abdullah.

The minister said that the visit conveys an important message to the world, emphasising the depth of relations between the two countries, and the tripartite ties that link Iraq with the Kingdom and Egypt. 

His Majesty always stresses, in all international forums, the pivotal role of Iraq in the Arab and regional arena, and highlights the importance of its security and stability, which is intertwined with regional security and stability.

Shboul stressed that the Ministry of Government Communications, through Petra, the Jordan Radio and Television Corporation and other national media, will lead a national dialogue to discuss all national issues related to the modernisation plans.

The government was aware of damage afflicting the media during the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, the minister said, noting that the government approved a number of measures to support the media, including increasing the price of government advertising.

He voiced aspiration for the improvement of the media's economic conditions, in line with Jordan’s economic recovery.

He pointed out that His Majesty King Abdullah instructed, in his Speech from the Throne, to move forward with political, economic and administrative reforms.

In regard to political reform, he said that the government is working to create a conducive political environment for holding the first legislative elections on a partisan basis, after completing the necessary constitutional and legislative amendments, especially those related to election and party laws.

Stressing that administrative modernisation seeks to restore the brilliance of the Jordanian administration and provide the best services to people, he said that the establishment of the Ministry of Government Communications is part of administrative modernisation.

Focusing on the International Monetary Fund's recent review of the Jordanian economy, Shboul said that the public lies at the heart of existing modernisation processes.

On electrical interconnection projects between the Kingdom and neighbouring countries, Shboul said that the electrical interconnection with the Palestinian Authority is “a distinguished project” and work is underway to provide the technical equipment for the project.

In regard to electrical connection with Iraq, he said that the project, which extends over a distance of more than 360 kilometres, is an important and strategic project for the two countries. 

As for Lebanon, there are political circumstances related to the Syrian crisis that affect electrical interconnection.

Toukan said that the role of His Majesty the King and his global tours contributed to improving the Kingdom's image economically, which led to sustaining donor partners and obtaining development aid and loans over the past years in light of the economic crises the world is going through.

Toukan stressed that the fifth review of the International Monetary Fund coincided with the rating of the global credit rating agency, Moody's,  as it raised the long-term sovereign credit rating of Jordan from stable to positive, and attributed the change in the future outlook for Jordan to "positive" in light of the commitment of the Jordanian government to implementing a wide package of structural  reforms, especially those related to public finance.

She said that this classification, after the success of the review, gives a clear indication and evidence to the donor community and partners that the Kingdom is proceeding with realistic economic reform plans to implement the roadmap for modernising the economic sector.

Toukan indicated that the vision of economic modernisation will be translated into a number of projects such as the water desalination project, the national carrier, public transportation and railway.

She stressed the projects’ importance as a basis to attract investment and reduce unemployment rates.

In regard to the potential for investment in the next stage, which the government has prioritised, Toukan said that the government exerts efforts to strengthen the role of the private sector by activating the law regulating investments, which will come into force in January after the completion of its legislative stages.

Focus will be on the Kingdom's ranking in many international indicators, which will reflect positively on the investment environment and improve people’s livelihood, she said.

As for modernising the public sector, she said that the main goal is to reach desired economic modernisation, which was accepted by donor countries and international financing agencies such as the US Agency for Development, the German government, the EU and the World Bank.

An amount of $2.2 billion has been allocated to finance the National Water Carrier Project, of which $500 million are on grants, $500 million as development loans, while the value of investment loans amounted to $1.2 billion.

Toukan indicated that Arab countries were invited to a donor conference, but there were no pledges or commitments in this regard, indicating that some qualified consortia include companies from Arab Gulf countries and Egypt.

The second donor conference for the National Water Carrier project will be held in March 2023, she said.

The percentage of funding for the Jordan Response Plan for the Syrian Crisis so far reached 21 per cent, or about $492 million, noting that Jordan is constantly calling on the international community to assume its responsibility and provide appropriate support and financing to the refugees.

Referring to the results of the Household Expenditure and Income Survey, Toukan indicated that the results of the survey will be announced in the second quarter of 2023, noting that the field studies of this survey have been completed, with results currently being analysed.