His Majesty King Abdullah on Monday met with representatives of various economic sectors who brief him on a proposed action plan to stimulate the economy.
The plan was presented in response to a request from King Abdullah to sector leaders to draft a plan to enhance national economic performance. Recommendations included rapid short-and medium-term measures to stimulate the economic performance of all sectors.
The proposals, presented by Royal Court Adviser Amer Hadidi, included facilitating the hospital accreditation regulating and doubling the pharmaceutical industry’s share in the local market.
They also called for a meeting between the Health Ministry, the Jordan Food and Drug Administration (JFDA) and the Jordanian Association of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers to discuss immediate procedures to register the largest possible number of locally manufactured drugs and re-examine the work of the JFDA medicine pricing committee.
During the meeting, attended by Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit, Royal Court Chief Khaled Karaki and King’s media adviser Amjad Adaileh, the representatives also suggested facilitating the procedures at Jordan’s borders by increasing the number of clearance stations to reduce the hours of waiting before the start of the tourism season for Arab visitors.
The proposals included calls to study the possibility of reducing the cost of residential and commercial construction licenses and the possibility of increasing foreign ownership, particularly among Iraqi investors, and facilitate residency measures and travel visas.
They also called for declaring a duty-free business zone, according duty free status to businesses that employ Jordanians at different administrative levels and for support to the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology’s cooperation with the private sector to provide job opportunities for new graduates in the IT sector.
They called for completing the medical accountability and bankruptcy laws as well as expediting the establishment of specialised arbitration courts and partially exempting company profits from taxes provided that the funds are instead invested in research and development.
The plan suggested the possibility of reducing commercial banks’ mandatory reserves if they increase credit facilities extended to small and medium-sized businesses, and of activating the role of the Jordan Loan Guarantee Corporation regarding the guarantees for small and medium-sized enterprises.
The representatives also proposed establishing a specialised risk fund to support faltering companies to be run by expertise from the private sector and holding a meeting between the Jordan Enterprise Development and Commercial Centres Corporation, the Jordan Investment Board, the Jordan Tourism Board and the Jordan Hotels Association to unify their marketing efforts and arrive at the best unified and accredited tourist packages.
Proposals included allowing the industrial sector to import industrial fuel and establishing a venture fund to support small income-generating and service businesses through donations from the private sector and forming a committee from the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, Ministry of Labour, the Development and Employment Fund, among others, to draft proposals for the fund’s work mechanisms and instructions.
Business leaders also urged the adoption of incentives to encourage Iraqi enterprises and institutions to use the Aqaba Port for the import and export of Iraqi goods and to facilitate Iraqi businessmen by simplifying procedures related to trade through Aqaba.