Amman: Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh Tuesday chaired a meeting of the Investment Council to discuss achievements during the first nine months of 2023, challenges and the repercussions of the Israeli war on Gaza on Jordan.
Khasawneh, the Chairman of the Board, lauded the “great” efforts of the Board of Investment, which held 12 meetings in 2023 as part of a partnership framework between the public and private sectors.
Khasawneh added that the Investment Council made “many accomplishments” in 2023, including approving the Kingdom’s general investment policy and the investment promotion strategy for 2023-2026.
He said the performance of businesses benefiting from the investment law for the first nine months of 2023 increased by 34 per cent as opposed to the same period of 2022.
Khasawneh added that during the first nine months of 2023, about 372 projects were created, offering 30,000 job opportunities. He noted that the first investment fund was registered in the register of investment funds for Jordanian
banks at the Ministry of Investment.
He praised the role of the Investment Council in presenting and approving the public-private partnership law and the possible legislative amendments for investment.
“During the last quarter of last year, we in Jordan were shaken by the ongoing Israeli aggression against our people in the Gaza Strip, the escalation of the Israeli occupation in the West Bank and the violence of settlers there,” Khasawneh said.
He added, “Everyone agrees with the Jordanian position derived from the basic constants of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan regarding crimes against civilians,” adding, “Jordan’s position helped show the crimes committed by Israel and the unfortunate double standards in dealing with Israeli crimes and the immunity granted to them to continue these crimes.”
He noted the “tireless and continuous work” of His Majesty King Abdullah II to end the Israeli war and counter attempts that would create conditions for displacement outside Gaza and the occupied West Bank and to
establish an independent Palestinian state based on the two-state solution.
He said, “We were affected by the brutal aggression that took place and is taking place against our people in the Gaza Strip, and we have challenges in many sectors whose performance was outstanding before the aggression.
Khasawneh said Jordan’s financial and monetary performance was “outstanding” in 2023. “We completed the extended credit facility programme with the International Monetary Fund and entered into a new programme with the Fund that will be announced soon.”
He added that the credit ratings of Jordan’s economy remained unchanged, noting that the government submitted a draft law for the state’s general budget, the highest capital spending in the state’s history.
He added, “A strong economy is capable of supporting our people in Palestine and the Gaza Strip and provides us with areas of additional support for them,” adding, “Moving toward manifestations that lead to the freezing of the economic and commercial sectors doe
s not serve our brothers in Palestine.”
Khasawneh said, “We have emotional solidarity, political support, and full support for our people in Palestine,” adding, “Sustaining the economic and investment movement is essential to sustaining and supporting this role and that disrupting the economic and investment movement affects the investments coming to Jordan.”
He noted the “great efforts of the Jordanian Armed Forces – the Arab Army and our security services in protecting the nation’s borders from the scourge and evils of drugs and the dangers of smuggling in all its forms, and this has costs and burdens on the national economy.”
Investment Minister Kholoud Saqqaf discussed the increase in direct investments from January through September 2023, which amounted to JOD879 million, compared to JOD657 million during the same period of 2022.
Source: Jordan News Agency