Jordan is on right path of reform — Murad

AMMAN — Amman Chamber of Commerce (ACC) President Issa Murad said Jordan is on the right path of reform to merge with international economy. 

He said Jordan ranked second among Arab countries in the 2015 Economic Freedoms report, issued by the Canada-based Fraser Institute in December 2015, and ranked seventh among 157 countries in the report issued by the institute in September 2015.

The Kingdom's national economy is growing and economic indications are improving despite the issues and changes in the region, Murad added.

The Jordanian economy in the last decade developed regularly through applying comprehensive economic reform and restructuring programmes supervised by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, the ACC president elaborated.

The report is one of the main resources that countries and donor parties depend on to determine the countries that are fittest for implementing their activities in the fields of investment, tourism, bilateral relations, providing aid and scholarships, and support productive projects, Murad continued.

He noted that the report directly and indirectly affects the international impression about Jordan and reveals improvement in personal freedoms as well as social, health and infrastructure services. 

This result is considered a stimulator for decision and policymakers to build on the report and use it as a guide to determine what is positive and what is negative, to choose the means that can improve Jordan's ranking in other international reports, he said. 

Murad called for prioritising the adopted financial and monetary policies on increasing the "openness and competiveness" of the business environment and increasing general investment in infrastructure.

He also called for encouraging safe investment in Jordan, noting that everyone from the public and private sectors is responsible and has a social and economic role. 

Laws and regulations related to economic activity should be improved and developed, the ACC president stressed, adding that such laws include the Income Tax Law which burdens the commercial sector. 

The United Arab Emirates topped Arab countries with 8.2 points, and Jordan achieved 8.1 points in the report based on data from 2013.