Ammon News -

Jordan has responded quickly to the coronavirus pandemic and introduced reforms and procedures aimed at protecting lives by ramping up health measures and providing vaccines, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department Jihad Azour said on Sunday.

Azour told a press conference held in Amman today on economic prospects for the Middle East and Central Asia regions that Jordan has taken a number of financial measures to alleviate pressures on individuals' income, including the central bank's move to support market liquidity and the financial sector, readjust benchmark interest rates and introduce a program supporting companies.

He pointed out that the IMF supports the economic reform agenda in Jordan that began last year with the aim of preserving macroeconomic stability and accelerating economic reforms designed to bring about the desired level of growth.

Azour noted that the IMF mission has recently reached an agreement with the Kingdom regarding the Second Review under Jordan's Extended Fund Facility Arrangement (EFF) which aims to provide more flexibility and support for the structural reform agenda, stressing that Jordan has achieved all goals of the review and remained on the reform path.

He added that the aim of the second review is to support measures aimed at improving the business environment and facilitating access to financing, by reducing labor and energy costs, improving governance, and supporting the government by improving the tax system without any agreement related to increasing taxes.