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Ammon News -

Prime Minister, Dr. Bisher Khasawneh, visited Madaba governorate on Sunday, as part of the implementation of His Majesty King Abdullah II's directives to the government to meet the citizens' needs in the Kingdom's various regions and work to improving the city's living, service and development conditions.

During the meeting with the governorate's dignitaries, which was held at the American University in Madaba, and in the presence of a ministerial team, Khasawneh reviewed the challenges that Jordan faced during the last decade, which were exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, referring to the government's measures taken to overcome pandemic-induced effects and repercussions.

In this regard, Khasawneh stressed that Jordan has addressed Covid-19 crisis despite "its heavy legacy, as is the legacy of the last decade and its challenges".

Jordan, he said, is on the path of recovery, adding that the Kingdom has overcome the most difficult challenges and "remained strong, and the faith of Jordanians in their homeland and leadership has no bounds."

In addition, the PM referred to the repercussions of the Russian-Ukrainian crisis on oil prices and many basic materials, adding that despite the continuing hike of oil prices, the cost of oil derivatives will be fixed for the third month in a row in Jordan, coinciding with the advent of the blessed month of Ramadan.

The cost of stabilizing prices of oil derivatives on Jordan's Treasury during the current and next months is about JD80 million, as its cost on the state during the past months ranged between JD52 to JD53 million, the premier added.

Gov't will resume its policy of reflecting the oil price fluctuations on the prices of oil derivatives after the holy month of Ramadan, he noted.

The PM stressed that Jordan's "prudent" policies in the energy field and the expansion of the long-term contract to import Egyptian natural gas, or the liquefied gas ship in Aqaba, or other sources, has helped the state Treasury avoid costs estimated at about $1.2 billion during the years 2020 and 2021.

The gov't also avoided costs estimated at about $300 million during the past two months, in light of the unprecedented rises in energy prices, according to the PM.

The Russian-Ukrainian crisis led to a steady rise in the prices of basic materials, such as wheat, barley, corn and vegetable oils, adding that Jordan's strategic stock of wheat is sufficient for a period of 14 to 15 months, Khasawneh said.

The PM also referred to a statement released by the World Bank that Jordan is one of the least-affected countries by this crisis.

Jordan is affected, like other countries, by the repercussions of the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, especially with regard to the prices of materials and goods that will be purchased in the future, he pointed out.

Locally, he said the government resorts to price ceilings in setting prices of basic materials, if rise "unjustifiably."

The PM also noted to the positive response from the majority of traders and importers to avoid exaggerating raising prices, adding that limited cases have broken this norm.

In this regard, he noted the government will not allow the citizen's livelihood to be tampered with, or exaggerate prices of goods by a small group, who could resort to making profit at the citizens' expense and exploiting unjustifiably the effects and repercussions of global crises, pledging the gov't will "deal firmly with whoever manipulates the citizen's food."

The PM also indicated that His Majesty King Abdullah II carries a comprehensive reform vision, which is to modernize Jordan's political, administrative and economic system.

The economic workshop held by the Royal Hashemite Court (RHC), in cooperation with the government, aims to develop a document that constitutes a reference vision for Jordan for the coming years, including approaches to unemployment challenges and unleashing the energies of youth in many axes and fields, he noted.