Raad Mahmoud Al-Tal

The mid-year 2025 report on Jordan’s Executive Program for the Economic Modernization Vision provides a timely checkpoint for assessing the country’s economic trajectory. More than a record of sectoral milestones, the report highlights the government’s broader strategy of building infrastructure, attracting investment, and strengthening productive sectors.

On the investment front, the report notes over 9,000 applications submitted through the unified investment platform, outreach to hundreds of companies, and the addition of new opportunities. These developments show growing institutional momentum, but the critical challenge remains translating this activity into tangible projects. Jordan’s economy requires both large-scale investments and small enterprises that generate jobs and drive exports. The key question is whether the investment climate can attract and retain long-term investors within the domestic market.

Industry continues to serve as a pillar of growth, with output exceeding 1.7 billion dinars in the first quarter. Initiatives such as export credit guarantees and exemptions for recycling industrial byproducts represent meaningful steps toward higher value-added production. Yet persistent challenges—including high energy costs and limited technological capacity—still hinder the sector’s integration into global supply chains. Without deeper structural reforms, progress in industrial modernization will remain constrained.

Agriculture and food security present a more mixed picture. The report cites comfortable reserves of wheat and barley, loans surpassing 40 million dinars (with around one quarter directed to women), and the reclamation of land with over one million new trees planted. These steps strengthen resilience and sustainability. However, agriculture’s contribution to growth remains limited. Advancing the sector will require greater productivity through technology and closer integration with modern value chains and markets.

Mining emerges as a strategic opportunity for Jordan’s future. Recent agreements on copper and rare element exploration, along with feasibility studies for lithium extraction from the Dead Sea, offer long-term potential to position the country in the clean energy and technology industries. Still, most initiatives are in early planning stages, meaning economic impact is unlikely in the short term. Delivering on this promise will depend on significant investment and durable partnerships.

Transport and logistics stand out as areas of immediate progress. Hundreds of trucks have been modernized, work is advancing on the Amman–Zarqa Bus Rapid Transit line, and Amman Civil Airport is being upgraded. Early designs for railways dedicated to phosphate and potash transport have also been completed. These projects improve trade efficiency and connectivity, laying the groundwork for Jordan to become a regional logistics hub, provided they are integrated with industrial and trade policy.

Taken together, the report presents a landscape of both achievement and challenge. While progress is visible in transport, food security, and parts of industry, other sectors such as mining and investment remain in foundational phases. This reflects the dual nature of modernization: short-term wins alongside long-term bets.

Ultimately, the mid-2025 report provides a realistic snapshot of Jordan’s modernization journey. Progress is being made, but the gap between ambition and execution remains. Success in the next stage will depend on accelerating implementation, linking sectoral projects to broader goals of job creation and growth, and enhancing competitiveness in a volatile regional and global economy.

Raad Al Tal is Head of Economics Department — The university of Jordan