National economy continues to prove resilient — IMF mission head

AMMAN — A senior International Monetary Fund (IMF) official has said that the Jordanian economy has proved resilient under the difficult regional circumstances and expected gross domestic product (GDP) growth to rise this year.

In a statement issued after concluding her mission in Jordan, a copy of which was received by The Jordan Times on Sunday, head of the IMF team, Kristina Kostial, said: “Jordan’s economy has proven resilient in an increasingly difficult regional environment — particularly disruptions of gas flow from Egypt, the conflict in Syria and the resulting flow of refugees, and the developments in Iraq and Gaza.”

Kostial and her team were in Jordan during September 9-21 to conduct the fifth and sixth reviews of national economic performance under the Stand-By Arrangement (SBA). Positive reviews secure Jordan payments as part of a nearly $2 billion loan extended by the IMF. 

Kostial added that economic growth is expected to reach 3.3 per cent this year, up from 2.8 per cent last year, helped by recovery in several sectors. These include agriculture and mining. Meanwhile, according to the statement, inflation is projected to decline to less than 3 per cent by the end of 2014 from 3.3 per cent in 2013. The current account deficit continues to improve and is expected to narrow to less than 7.5 per cent of the GDP this year, the IMF official said.

“Programme performance is broadly on track. Fiscal consolidation is proceeding, with the finances of the central government expected to stay on target through the end of 2014, and international reserves to continue to over-perform.”

The focus continues to be on reducing public deficits and debt, while boosting growth and creating jobs so as to improve living standards and social conditions for Jordanians in the future, Kostial said.

“We are continuing our constructive discussions from headquarters. The IMF is looking forward to maintaining its dialogue with the authorities and support Jordan’s national programme of economic reforms.”