“Jordanian Masarat” holds a session entitled “The Path of Economic Reform Parallel to Political Reform”

Today, Wednesday, at its headquarters in the capital, Amman, the Jordanian Masarat Center for Development and progress held a closed dialogue session with a group of economic experts, under the title "The Path of Economic Reform Parallel to Political Reform,” to discuss the requirements for economic reform to parallel the political reform that Jordan is witnessing in light of the formation of... Royal Commission to Modernize the Political Reform System. Participants in the session saw that Jordan today is living in its most self-reliant state in the country’s history, and that there has been clear progress on many issues during the last ten years. Including spending on education and health, the decline in the crime rate, and the resilience of the economy in the most difficult circumstances is an indicator of the resilience of the economy and economic institutions. Participants agreed on the importance of investing in the economic reform process in the short and medium term. They criticized the investment decision-making mechanism and the instability of investment-related legislation, which negatively affects foreign and local investment. They called for changing the government’s approach to investment decisions and stabilizing legislation, to ensure investment in long-term projects. In the long term, participants called for supporting the sectors that most employ Jordanians. Such as industry and agriculture, and supporting the most economically active sectors. Such as information management and tourism, explaining that spending on sectors in the millions of dinars shows its positive impact on the economy within a year or two, but spending priorities must be determined to stimulate the economy. They agreed that the current economic concern includes poverty and unemployment, but they are two symptoms of a lack of economic growth. Therefore, what is required is to treat and achieve economic growth, not to treat the symptoms of deflation and fight poverty and unemployment. Others called for economic reform by addressing government expenditures, as work, adjustment and reform are not limited to revenues, but rather it is necessary to look at the expenditures item. Participants called for amending legislation, addressing the legal gaps that limit women’s economic participation, and guiding and educating them to enroll in university majors that are most employing individuals, and to move away from stagnant and saturated majors. The former Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply, Dr. Tariq Al-Hamouri, the former Minister of State for Economic Affairs, Muhannad Shehadeh, the former Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Dr. Ibrahim Saif, the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank, Dr. Adel Al-Sharkas, and the Head of the Investment Fund at the General Organization for Social Security participated in the session. , Kholoud Al-Saqqaf, the Secretary General of the Supreme Population Council, Dr. Abla Amawi, the founder of the "Masarat” Center, the former Minister of State for Information Affairs, Jumana Ghunaimat, and the founder of the "Masarat” Center, the former MP, Wafa Bani Mustafa. It is noteworthy that "Jordanian Pathways for Development and Development” is a non-profit civil society organization, founded in 2021, and specializes in issues of enhancing women’s presence in the public space and empowering them politically and economically, supporting and stimulating youth participation in political and development work, and developing and strengthening the capabilities of the media to keep up with Developments to be a tool for control and a way to achieve sustainable development and democracy. "Masarat” focuses on conducting studies and research related to the Jordanian scene as a whole, as well as conducting analytical readings of interest to decision-makers in various aspects of life, in addition to conducting analytical studies of the political and media scene and their content. "Masarat” will publish a position paper on the dialogue session within the coming days.