His Majesty King Abdullah II on Sunday said that Jordan throughout its history experienced many regional developments that had an impact on its economy, but it has managed to overcome them and emerged stronger.

During the closing session of a forum held by the government at the Prime Ministry to highlight progress in implementing the Economic Modernisation Vision, His Majesty stressed the need to maximise efforts to implement the vision’s targets this year, especially in light of regional conditions that could have negative implications, expressing appreciation for what has been achieved over the past year.

Speaking at the session, attended by His Royal Highness Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II, the King stressed the important role of the private sector in implementing mega projects, urging investors to enhance their contribution to the national economy.

His Majesty called for promoting investment opportunities in Jordan, to enhance the performance of foreign investment indicators, stressing the importance of maintaining cooperation between ministries and enhancing accountability.

In addition, the King urged officials to maintain outreach to Jordanians, enhance partnership between the public and the private sectors, and commit to teamwork.

For his part, Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh said over 82 per cent of the economic vision’s goals for 2023 were achieved, stressing that the government will carry on with implementing the vision’s targets.

He added that the economy has proved its resilience once again amid regional shocks and external pressure, while maintaining financial and fiscal stability.

Turning to job creation, the prime minister said over 136,000 job opportunities were created from the beginning of 2022 until mid-2023, including 89,500 jobs during 2022, while the average annual job creation rate in the past decade before the pandemic was around 50,000 job opportunities.

The private sector created 76 per cent of these jobs, while 21 per cent were created by the public sector, and 3 per cent were created by non-governmental organisations, he added.

Unemployment rates dropped during 2023 by 2.7 per cent, reaching 21.4 per cent, compared to 24.1 per cent in 2021 and 22.8 per cent in 2022, according to the prime minister.

Khasawneh continued that a target economic growth rate of 2.6 per cent has been set for 2024, but the possibility of achieving this goal is linked to regional and international developments. 

Meanwhile, the target for foreign investments has been set at more than JD1 billion by 2025, with a total of JD673 million reached by the third quarter of 2023, as 517 investment projects benefitted from the new investment law endorsed last year, he said.

The prime minister said work towards economic progress must continue, since it is a vital pillar of Jordan’s resilience and ability to help its fellow Arab brothers and sisters.

The forum, attended by a number of officials, lawmakers, and private sector representatives, included five sessions that covered economic performance and current challenges, progress in implementing the economic vision’s executive programme for 2023, investments and productive sectors, as well as sustainable resources.