His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday inaugurated the 2nd Jordan Economic Forum (JEF), which is organised by the Lebanon-based Al Iktissad Wal Aamal Group.



During the ceremony, in which Her Majesty Queen Rania was also present, the King handed prizes to three excelling Arab businessmen selected as the winners of the group's Life Time Achievement Prize.



Winners included Nasser Kharafi, president of Kuwait's Kharafi Group, Elia Nuqul, chairman and founder of the Amman-based Nuqul Group and the Arab Bank, which was represented by its chairman, Abdul Hamid Shoman.



During the opening ceremony of the two-day event, which attracted the participation of 1,000 businessmen, officials and experts, Al Iktissad Wal Aamal Group's General Manager Raouf Abu Zaki announced that upon a request by the King, the group decided to hold the high-profile event on a yearly basis instead of every other year.



In his address to the meeting, Abu Zaki said that his group “won its bets on Jordan,” which since the first JEF meeting in 2003 made a remarkable progress in various aspects of development.



He indicated that during the past few years, Jordan earned investors' confidence in terms of the stability of its legislations and policies citing as factors of success the role the Kingdom has given to the private sector and the privatisation programme.



However, he urged Jordan to do more to “stand in the face of bureaucracy and proceed with its administrative, fiscal and political reforms.”



Jordan, Abu Zaki added, is amid a fierce competition for the excessive liquid cash in the hands of Arab Gulf investors as a result of the soaring oil prices.



He said the Gulf countries are expected to receive $380 billion of oil revenues by the end of the current year, a sum that exceeds the development needs of these countries.



Gulf gas sales are also expected to beef up such revenues, and, naturally, the liquidity would go to investment destinations in the world.



The challenge countries like Jordan face is how much of this wealth can be attracted as investments, the expert said.



Representing Arab investors in Jordan, chairman of the Abdali Investment and Development PSC agreed that Jordan has become a “unique investment and tourism destination.”



The chairman commended the JEF as “an opportunity for exchanging opinions and ideas and for exploring available investment opportunities in Jordan.”



After the opening ceremony, plenary sessions started to tackle topics such as “Jordan Economy: The Road Ahead,” which was chaired by Industry and TradeMinister Sharif Zu'bi.



In the session, Planning and International Cooperation Minister Suhair Al-Ali, Chamber of Industry Chairman Hatem Halawani and Jordan Exporters Association's Chairman Ayman Hatahet, were due to outline the future prospects for the national economy in light of the current indicators.



Other panelists shed light on investment opportunities, especially in the area of privatisation, and promoted the investment climate in Jordan and the region as well as the experience of investing in Jordan.



The new mega real estate projects in Jordan will be the focus of a session today. Other topics on Monday's agenda include the future of the banking sector in the region and the Jordan ICT advantage, among others.

The Jordan Times