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Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour was able to navigate the country through a difficult economic period, thanks to the determination of his people and the support of the Kingdom’s wise leadership.

In remarks at the opening of the Regional Conference for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), Ensour said that economic indicators are a true indication of the accomplishments that have been made, noting that the economy grew from 2.3 percent at the end of 2010 to 2.8 percent last year.

He also said that the Kingdom's foreign reserves rose from $6.6 billion in 2012 to $12 billion at the end of 2013, adding these were enough to cover the Kingdom's imports for seven months.

The prime minister thanked Arab countries that offered support to the Kingdom in these difficult times, mainly following the crisis in Syria, to overcome its repercussions.

He highlighted the importance of Small and Medium Enterprises for the development process, noting that the success of the conference will be a major step to achieve the vision of His Majesty King Abdullah II to provide a decent life for citizens.

Ensour said the Cabinet issued last month a decision to form a higher committee concerned with financing small and medium size enterprises as it was aware of the importance of boosting partnership between the public and private sectors.

Minister of Industry and Trade Hatem Halawani spoke about the government's effort to overcome obstacles facing the economic sector in general and the small and medium size enterprises in particular. He also pointed to the efforts of the Jordan Economic Development Corporation (JEDCO) in supporting activities of SMEs.

About 99.4 percent of Jordan’s 156,000 companies are either small or medium enterprises, accounting for 40 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The gathering, titled "Chambers of Industry and Commerce, Business Associations: Drivers of Change," aims to highlight the important role of the Chambers and the Associations in providing support for the growth and prosperity of the SMEs.

It will also discuss challenges facing the SMEs, their future and ways to support them.

The two-day conference, organized by the Jordan Chamber of Industry, is being attended by 300 participants from Jordan, Kuwait, Egypt, Turkey, Bahrain, the UAE, Denmark and Malaysia, representatives of chambers of industry and trade from the Middle East and North Africa region, unions, associations, banks and financial institutions.

*Petra