PM continues youth dialogue series at Al Yarmouk University

AMMAN — Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh on Thursday continued his series of dialogues with young Jordanians  at Al Yarmouk University in Irbid.

The gathering, titled "Visions of Modernisation: Youth as a Centre of Interest", was attended by several ministers, the university president and hundreds of students from both government and private universities in the northern region, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

The prime minister expressed his understanding of the reservations among the youth in the central and southern regions when it comes to participating in political life.

Attributing these concerns to past restrictions, the PM noted that the recent constitutional amendments and laws related to elections and political parties changes have effectively removed barriers that used to hinder the youth and encouraged them to actively engage in partisan work and on-campus activities.

In response to a student's inquiry, Khasawneh addressed the issue of dwindling public trust, emphasising the importance of presenting factual information transparently to the people. 

Among these  crucial facts is the public sector's inability to absorb the large number of graduates, which currently exceeds 130,000 per year, while the annual public sector employment opportunities range between 10,000 to 15,000 at most, he said.

The prime minister also shed light on public spending, noting that around 70 per cent of it is channelled into salaries and pensions, with approximately 13.7 per cent dedicated to debt obligations. 

Despite the generation of general revenues from taxes, aids and returns from mining industries, there still exists a gap of around JD2 billion, which necessitates annual borrowing.

In terms of economic performance, Khasawneh highlighted optimistic indicators from the first quarter of the current year, noting that economic growth reached 2.8 per cent, national exports saw a 4 per cent increase, tourism income surged by 68 per cent and the unemployment rate decreased by 1 per cent.