IMF to conduct virtual review of EFF programme with Jordan — Al-Ississ

AMMAN — An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission will conduct the first review of its $1.3 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) with Jordan this month virtually, Finance Minister Mohamad Al-Ississ said on Monday. 

During a dialogue session titled "Economic resilience: Challenges and policies", Al-Ississ said that the importance of the IMF programme, which the Kingdom signed earlier this year, focusses on "remedying  the Jordanian economy as seen by the Jordanian economy", the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

The first “pillar” of the programme is to restore the momentum of growth, which is achieved by financial and economic stability through reducing production costs, mainly the cost of electricity, the minister said. 

According to Al-Ississ, the IMF has stressed that Jordan is capable of overcomimg the crisis and pursuing its economic reform, on which the fund's programme with the Kingdom is based on.

The minister added that the government will not increase the taxes, while it would improve tax revenues and collection by fighting tax evasion through introducing amendments and restructuring the tax department's directorates, Petra added.

Jordan and the IMF in February of 2020 reached a $1.3 billion agreement aimed at increasing growth, stimulating job creation, strengthening external and fiscal stability, increasing transparency and improving public spending. 

The staff-level agreement for the four-year EFF includes nine tranches, ranging each from $140-$150 million.

On August 2016, the IMF executive board approved a three-year extended arrangement under the EFF for Jordan for an amount equivalent to SDR 514.65 million (about $723 million, or 150 per cent of Jordan’s quota) to support the Kingdom’s economic and financial reform programme.