Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - Minister of Finance Izzeddin Kanakrieh on Tuesday said that a recent round talks he has held with International Monitory Fund (IMF) officials in Washington D.C. were "important" and that he made it clear that "Jordan will not accept any proposals that are inconsistent with its national interests".

The minister said the talks mainly focused on economic challenges, including sluggish growth and the high costs of the Syrian refugee crisis. He indicated that the talks figured high on the need to rein in the budget deficit and public debt as a prerequisite to promote financial and monetary stability.

He pointed out that Jordan is refining its economic growth plans, noting that a request was made to the IMF to help with any proposals that would propel economic growth and more job opportunities to reduce unemployment.

The IMF's proposals also emphasized that the Kingdom should adopt approaches aimed at carrying out qualitative financial reforms as part of a national plan.

Aslo, Kanakrieh stressed that Jordan will follow through on its plan aimed at promoting growth, fighting corruption, combating all forms of tax and non-tax evasion and activating mechanisms to rationalize public spending.

In turn, the IMF has shown its understanding of the challenges facing the Jordanian economy and that the Fund will provide support to enable Jordan to withstand and overcome these challenges, showing flexibility in discussing the nature of current and future cooperation with Jordan.