King follows up on discussions of National Economic Workshop’s second round

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Saturday followed up on the second round of the National Economic Workshop, held at the Royal Hashemite Court under the theme “Advancing into the Future: Unleashing Potential to Modernise the Economy”.

During a visit to the workshop, King Abdullah, accompanied by Prime Minister Bisher Al Khasawneh, spoke to participants in all sectors, and listened to briefings on ongoing discussions, according to a Royal Court statement.

His Majesty stressed the need to clearly define priorities in order to move forward and build on achievements, calling on participants to put forward direct recommendations on swift actions the government can take.

Speaking to participants in the mining sector, the King highlighted the importance of facilitating measures and legislation, as well as building on international best practices to enhance mining’s contribution to the national economy, in addition to establishing a database for this sector.

Participants in the mining sector called for exploring untapped resources and capitalising on the added value of current resources to enhance Jordan’s competitiveness and bolster regional integration, stressing the need to build on investments in resources that support the economy, such as potash and phosphate.

Speaking to participants in the creative industries sector, which covered film industry this week, His Majesty said this important sector has witnessed significant progress, citing a need to set strategies to enhance it further, and promote quality content and local talents to reflect positively on local communities and the economy, and enhance Jordan’s regional competitiveness.

In addition, the King called for attracting more international productions to film in Jordan, while also creating more Arabic content that reflects the culture of Jordan and the region.

His Majesty said Jordan is rich with talents, an invaluable asset, noting that the success of the creative industries will have a positive impact on many other sectors and on local communities.

Participants in the sector highlighted Jordan’s advantages in the film industry, including the wealth of talent and the suitable environment, adding that the workshop is an opportunity to identify the points of strength and challenges, as well as setting a strategic plan to move forward with advancing the sector.

Citing a need to enhance the government’s support for creative industries, participants called for building on Jordan’s achievements in this field over the past 10 years.

Speaking to participants in the transportation and logistical services sector, the King highlighted the need for the sector’s roadmap to include investment opportunities in regional connectivity projects, such as the railway project, and to build on Jordan’s strategic partnerships with Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq.

In addition, His Majesty pointed to the need to renew the public transportation fleet in Jordan, and to integrate vehicles powered by clean and renewable energy into public transport.

During a discussion with participants in the tourism sector, the King noted its important contribution to the economy and its benefits for local communities, calling for investing in opportunities in medical and adventure tourism, and enhancing efforts towards recovery from the impact of the COVID pandemic.

Participants representing the education sector spoke before His Majesty of education as an enabler for all other sectors, as education offers other sectors the human resources needed to enhance the economy.

They added that the workshop arranged the sector into sub-sectors: Early childhood, primary and secondary education, higher education, and professional and vocational training, with this week’s meetings covering primary and secondary education.

The National Economic Workshop seeks to evaluate the performance of the national economy, identify opportunities to develop economic sectors and enhance their competitiveness, and come up with a roadmap to enhance growth, create opportunities, and improve quality of life and services for Jordanians.

The workshop was launched last Saturday upon the King’s directives, and it continues over five weeks with the possibility to be extended further for additional rounds during the month of Ramadan if needed, especially for taskforces covering cross-cutting sectors and sub-sectors.

The workshop brings together nearly 300 economists and experts, representing the private sector, industry and commerce chambers, the government, Parliament, academia, public institutions, civil society, and the media.

The sectors covered in the workshop are: Agriculture and food security, energy, water, mining, ICT, financial services and markets, healthcare, trade and e-commerce, manufacturing and industry, including pharmaceutical industries, tourism, education and the labour market, transport and logistics, urban development and climate change and creative industries.