His Majesty King Abdullah on Wednesday said that political reforms are on track, but the economy remains the main concern. During a meeting with a group of political and economic figures, King Abdullah stressed the private sector’s role in achieving development and economic reform, in partnership with the public sector.

“We are moving forward, with seriousness, in political reform, but the main concern is the economic situation,” the King said, noting that the private sector shares his viewpoint.

King Abdullah said the private sector is a principal partner in the development process and the drive towards economic reforms. He explained that fixing the economy is key to boosting an environment conducive to investments, helping create job opportunities and confronting poverty and unemployment.

During the meeting, which was also attended by representatives from various political parties, His Majesty reiterated that political reform is basically connected to economic reform and that it is not possible to focus on one without the other.

The King emphasised the negative impact that wrong perceptions of some economic policies, particularly privatisation, would have on efforts to stimulate investments in the Kingdom. Such a situation adds to the economic burden and complicates the unemployment problem, which, he said, is an immediate challenge.

The King listened to participants’ remarks, which focused on economic hardships and means to ensure a decent life for all citizens. The participants also contributed input to a proposed strategy to stand up to the challenges of 2012.

Problems related to resources, energy, poverty, unemployment, liquidity and budget deficit were listed amongst the most immediate challenges. Participants warned against the fall out from a widening budget deficit and a drop in economic growth rate and investments. They stressed the importance of restoring confidence in public institutions by expediting political reform, strengthening the investment environment and lowering the budget deficit. They also called for providing sufficient liquidity and facilitating lending procedures and boosting the foreign reserves at the Central Bank of Jordan.

Discussions covered the need to focus on creating job opportunities, launching investments that create jobs and dealing with the issue of guest workers, noting that 60 per cent of job openings provided by the private sector go to guest workers.

In reply to remarks raised in the meeting, Prime Minister Awn Khasawneh acknowledged “big” problems, but at the same time stressed on broad opportunities to overcome the challenges at hand, citing successful investment attraction as a key solution to Jordan’s economic woes. Khasawneh said a revision of past decisions and practices is a positive thing as long as it does not turn into “self-flagellation” that scares off local and foreign investors.

Stressing that the government is interested in forging genuine partnership with the private sector, the Prime Minister explained that fighting corruption is one of the ways to sustain and attract investments.

On privatisation, he said his government’s plan to revisit the process is not merely meant to “open old files”. “No one can deny that not many people feel that the fruits of the privatisation have been reaped”.

The premier also brought up the “culture of shame” issue, which refers to a social trend among job seekers to reject certain jobs for their perceived inferiority, explaining that the problem lies in the educational system.

Khasawneh agreed with the notion that there is no potion that works as a solution for the economic problems facing the Kingdom. He also stressed that there is no slowdown in the political reform process, pointing out that the government is committed to the announced time frame.