23rd Jordan Economic Conference kicks off in Amman

AMMAN — The 23rd Jordan Economic Conference, titled "Innovation in e-commerce", kicked off on Tuesday with wide international participation to enhance economic and investment cooperation in the Kingdom.

Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply and Labour Yousef Shamali stressed that the volume of e-commerce in Jordan remains below the target, reaching around $788 million in 2020 in the Kingdom. The volume of e-commerce globally exceeded $5.7 trillion, including $37 billion in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Shamali expected the volume to continue trending upward to reach a global size of $8.1 trillion, of which $57 billion will be in the MENA region in 2026.

The minister noted that the government aims to ease the shift for existing enterprises to accommodate e-commerce. He said that the challenge is to accelerate that shift beyond its current state, which is not aligned with the government's endeavours towards greater economic modernisation and access to Arab and regional markets.

Shamali said that to be successful in this field the Kingdom must: increase the availability of an advanced ICT sector, implement vigorous efforts to shift towards a digital economy and services, establish a supportive legislative and regulatory environment, develop close political and economic relations with other countries, grow digital skills among youth, in particular, and provide a formal strategic course towards encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship.

Shamali said that the government launched a national e-commerce strategy in the first quarter of this year, which aims to make Jordan a regional hub for e-commerce and online retail to boost national exports.

Khaldoun Nuseir, general manager of AFAQ GROUP for Media, Advertising, Exhibitions, Conferences, the organisers of the two-day event, said that the group is keen to provide solutions to enhance economic development through discussions that tackle obstacles facing the digital economy according to the latest international standards.