Additionally, there was an increase in allocations for public debt interest by about JD 277 million due to the rise in global interest rates, and an allocation of JD 100 million for emergency expenditures to deal with developments in the situation of geopolitical uncertainty.
The financial and monetary stability that we have achieved is undoubtedly due to the prudence of the financial and monetary policies implemented by the government and the Central Bank. These policies created a favorable environment to stimulate economic activity, strengthened the stability of the national economy, deepened confidence in it and in the prevailing investment environment, and enabled the economic sectors to achieve positive performance from 2017 to 2023.
Reality bears witness to the effects of these prudent policies in maintaining a moderate level of price increases, protecting the purchasing power of citizens’ incomes at a time when citizens’ incomes have deteriorated in other countries, enhancing the momentum of local re
venues, achieving tax justice and tax stability, which contributes to attracting foreign investments and improving credit indicators to cover expenses.
Additionally, maintaining the Jordanian credit rating, enhancing Jordan’s position in global financial markets, and obtaining necessary financing at a lower cost was achieved. This was coupled with recording the highest level of the Kingdom’s foreign currency reserves, reflecting the strength of the Jordanian dinar and its attractiveness as a savings vessel.
Within four years, the government succeeded in raising capital spending and social protection allocations to the highest historical levels, reaching JD 1,729 million and JD 2,349 million, respectively, fulfilling its obligations, raising the ratio of coverage of local revenues to current expenditures to 90 percent, and reducing the primary deficit from 4.4 percent of Gross Domestic Product to about 2.1 percent, and reducing public debt from 88.8 percent of Gross Domestic Product to 88.3 percent, by raisi
ng local revenues from JD 7,325 million to JD 9,579 million in a fair manner by enhancing income tax revenues from JD 1,180 million to JD 1,950 million. It succeeded in fulfilling its commitment not to raise tax rates on citizens or impose new taxes.
The government also succeeded in maintaining its credit rating, successfully ending an entire program with the International Monetary Fund, and developing a new program with Jordanian hands, and thus succeeded in protecting the incomes, savings, and capabilities of the middle class, unlike what happened in other countries. The government did not succeed in this during a time of prosperity. Rather, it succeeded in the time of the Corona pandemic, the Russian-Ukrainian war, and the subsequent stagflation, and despite the criminal aggression against Gaza.
Consequently, the government proved that this fiscal and monetary policy is the correct way to manage the state’s capabilities to protect and strengthen the middle class.
As the government presents to your estee
med council its most prominent observations on what was included in the report of your esteemed Finance and Economy Committee, it confirms that it is fully convinced of the soundness of the approach it has followed since its formation in dealing with economic and financial affairs.
Source: Jordan News Agency
