Shraideh, UK Minister for Middle East co-chair 4th Jordan Taskforce meeting

AMMAN — Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Nasser Shraideh and UK Minister for the Middle East and Asia Amanda Milling on Thursday co-chaired the fourth Jordan Taskforce meeting to follow up on the outcomes of the 2019 London Initiative. 

The meeting was attended by Minister of Finance Mohamad Al-Ississ, British Ambassador to Jordan Bridget Brind, and several ambassadors and senior representatives of donor countries and relevant international finance institutions, according to a Planning Ministry statement.

The meeting covered two interactive sessions: The first focused on policy reforms to promote economic recovery, growth and job creation, and the other addressed the energy and water sectors as two essential sectors to make the Jordanian economy and climate more resilient in light of the challenges.

This meeting is part of ongoing efforts to mobilise support from the international community for Jordan's economic reform agenda, said the statement. 

Shraideh expressed the government's appreciation of the donor community for the ongoing support that is provided to the Jordan Growth Multi-Donor Trust Fund, which has been instrumental in providing needed technical and operational support to various line ministries and government institutions. 

Recently, Norway and Germany have contributed to the fund that is currently also being funded by the UK, Canada and the Netherlands. 

He also acknowledged the US Agency for International Development and other partners for supporting the government in implementing Jordan’s Reform Matrix.

Shraideh gave a presentation on the challenges, as well as the opportunities Jordan currently faces and called on the international community to strengthen partnerships to support Jordan meeting its ambitions for greener and more inclusive growth.  

He spoke about the importance of continuing support to the most affected communities and sectors from the pandemic, protecting jobs and the private sector, in addition to ensuring that the refugee community is not left behind, read the statement.

“We are achieving economic and structural reforms through the Reform Matrix and Jordan’s IMF programme, beyond that we continue need the support to transform Jordan into digital and green economy, stimulate public sector investments and keep an eye on vulnerable population who need different types of support and continue that work to create more jobs and achieve economic growth,” Shraideh said.

Speaking at the meeting, Milling said: “Jordan has demonstrated its commitment to delivering urgent and impactful reforms, including by announcing critical reforms in the energy sector.” 

“It is important to maintain momentum on the steps necessary to deliver inclusive and sustainable growth and jobs for Jordanians and for Jordan’s friends continue to support it in doing so. And I am proud that the UK is at heart of international support for these reforms,” she added.  

“We will continue to help Jordan deliver the ambitious commitments made at CoP26, to increase its economic stability and to continue to grow and thrive,” Milling stated.

Al-Ississ gave an update on the macroeconomic and fiscal framework, highlighting the recent fiscal reforms and its impacts on macro-fiscal indicators, including the progress achieved within the current framework arrangement with the IMF, said the statement.  

He added: “Despite a challenging political economy backdrop, the GOJ has implemented a series of significant structural reforms that aim to improve the private sector experience, lower costs of consumer goods through lowering customs tariffs, and improve transparency”.

The meeting also covered important interventions by international community representatives who expressed their support to the government’s efforts and highlighted the important role that the Reform Matrix has in transforming Jordan’s economy.  

Also, attendees recognised Jordan’s progress in implementing economic reforms and offered their support for further reforms that will strengthen Jordan’s stability and prosperity, the statement said. 

The participants also discussed how to best support Jordan to deliver inclusive and sustainable economic growth to deliver its priorities.

The Jordan Task Force was first launched as a result of the London Initiative in February 2019, during which Jordan’s Reform Matrix (2018-2024) was also introduced. It included a set of structural reforms that aim at boost inclusive growth and create jobs.  Since then, the Jordan Taskforce meets regularly to review progress on three fronts including growth and reform, debt stabilisation, and investment. It is also tasked with following up on the support provided by the international community to finance Jordan’s reform agenda, according to the statment.