PM: Jordan sets response, resilience-building plan


05-07-2020 10:58 AM

Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - Prime Minister, Omar Razzaz, on Sunday said the extensive meeting, which his government held on Saturday, included a "deep" revision of the country's COVID-19 experience and defined priorities for the government work in the coming period.

In a video message, the prime minister highlighted the meeting's main themes and said they focused on key lessons drawn from the government's management of the pandemic, and how Jordan will overcome any future challenge and turn it into a success opportunity, achieved by its strength and resilience.

"Jordan has succeeded after all worked together as one united, strong and sympathetic family, led by His Majesty," Razzaz said, noting that compliance with all procedures in place has helped achieve the success in addressing the crisis.

He added: "We succeed when information and truth are fully communicated to the citizen, a policy to continue in regard to issues of public concern, and the economic file now and in the future."

The premier continued: "We also succeed when we learn from our performance, which should be evaluated in a transparent and objective manner. We continue to receive feedback at all level of villages, municipalities, governorates, and from citizens themselves when they access the online platforms designed to collect citizens' feedback on public services' quality."

Speaking on the economy, the prime minister noted last week's euro-bond issuance and said underwriting requests were six times larger than the issuance value, which was secured under competitive interest rates.

He said the 1.75-billion-euro issuance will be channeled to repay debts totaling 1.25-billion-euro and to also inject liquidity into the market. Furthermore, Razzaz added, part of the amount will be used to repay internal debts.

The prime minister referred to major public-private projects, saying that there are 3 mega projects in the making, including a water technical loss management project as water losses reach 45 percent in Amman and Zarqa as well as in other governorates.

Razzaz said the Marka airport is another key project, stressing: "When it comes to safety, security and commerce, we need another airport project similar to the Queen Alia International Airport project."

The third project is the fiber optic network which the prime minister said will reach every Jordanian village and school, reduce internet costs and increase network speed and capacity.

Razzaz said the three projects will be signed throughout this week, reflecting investors' confidence in the Jordanian economy which he emphasized provide adaptive to the conditions which the pandemic has created.

On the tourism sector which has been hard hit by the pandemic, the prime minister spoke of a remarkable improvement in efforts to encourage domestic tourism, especially in the southern region, where hotel occupation rates hit 100 percent.

He indicated that the coming weeks will see additional focus on domestic tourism in the central and northern regions and other tourist magnets across the country. Razzaz also underlined the importance of medical tourism, noting the "Salamtak" program which will be used to ensure that arrivals for medical tourism do not include coronavirus infections.

The prime minister stressed that all of these indicators suggest a great deal of confidence in Jordan, whether globally or regionally, and its economy, indicating that foreign investors are now in the hunt for countries that enjoy political, social and economic stability and security.

Razzaz also highlighted the "Recovery and Resilience Phase", the third stage of the government's response to the pandemic, and said it is linked to structural decisions that the government will take in order to increase investment and enhance the economy’s resilience in the face of any upcoming risks.

He underlined the need to address economic challenges in the same way Jordan has dealt with health challenges, that is, in the spirit of a coherent and united family, while emphasizing the importance of supporting economic sectors that were affected by the crisis, such as tourism and transportation.




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