Halawani launches debate on industrial, commercial vision

AMMAN — The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply on Thursday held a meeting to discuss the future vision of the industry, trade and investment sectors.

The meeting was a step for preparing the 10-year economic blueprint the government is working on under Royal directives of His Majesty King Abdullah, according to a statement the ministry sent to The Jordan Times. 

Industry, Trade and Supply Minister Hatem Halawani said the blueprint the government is working on aims at achieving positive growth rates during the next 10 years, narrowing the budget deficit and maintaining the general debt rates under 60 per cent of the gross domestic product, providing job opportunities and increasing investment rates. 

All that can be achieved according to rates which all stakeholders agree on the possibility of attaining within the targeted 10 years, he remarked. 

Halawani asked institutions representing the private sector, such as industry and trade chambers, the Jordan Businessmen Association and the Association of Banks, to provide the ministry within a week with suggestions that may suit the blueprint; mechanisms that may contribute to its success; and their remarks on the suggestions included in the ministry’s future vision.

The minister also said that the ministry will work on inaugurating new markets for Jordanian exports, especially in Africa, to increase the Kingdom’s trade volume. 

The ministry will reconsider agreements that did not benefit the Jordanian economy and did not contribute to lowering the trade balance deficit, Halawani added.

He continued that Jordan’s classification in international economic indicators will be studied to examine the reasons for the decline in some indicators and to work on solutions to improve the Kingdom’s economic ranking on these reports. 

The minister noted that meetings will be held with each economic and service sector in order to agree on the future vision needed for the next 10 years and to set the targeted rate of contribution of  the sector to the aspired growth rate.