National conference on economic blueprint slated for September 20

AMMAN – Officials, lawmakers, academics and economists will gather at the Dead Sea on September 20 for a national conference to discuss the zero draft of the 10-year economic development blueprint His Majesty King Abdullah directed the government to prepare earlier this year, according to a government official.

Mukhallad Omari, director of policies at the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, said the conference was postponed from September 6 to September 20 in order to give national committees in charge of preparing the economic plan more time to finalise their work and to invite more participants to the event. 

Omari told The Jordan Times Thursday that government officials, lawmakers, economic and social experts, academics and representatives from the private sector, civil society organisations, political parties and municipalities would attend the one-day conference, which he said would also include a number of workshops on specific economic sectors.  

"The committees have delivered the zero draft to coordination panels in order to be discussed in depth at the forum," the ministry official said. 

The main objective of the conference is to present the outcome of the committees’ work and to receive input and ideas from participants, he added. 

Over the past months, committees representing various ministries have engaged in intensive meetings with representatives of the private sector and local communities as well as experts to come up with proposals on how to improve the performance of the Kingdom's economy in the coming 10 years. 

On March 29, the King sent a letter to Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour directing the government to prepare a plan that would result in a stronger economy, in both macroeconomic and monetary aspects, and ensure consistency, increased competitiveness, productivity and self-reliance.

The ultimate goal, His Majesty said, is to achieve comprehensive development and ensure Jordanians get a “decent living and hope for a better future”.

This economic blueprint should have a comprehensive framework that targets the following: enhancing financial and monetary policies and assuring their consistency; improving economic competitiveness; and enhancing values of high productivity and self-reliance to realise sustainable and comprehensive development, the Monarch said in the letter.