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Ammon News - Jordan seeks to develop a comprehensive plan for the coming years to “unleash the necessary potential” to modernise the economy and contribute to national efforts to realise the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Nasser Shraideh said on Wednesday.

Shraideh made the remarks while chairing the Arab Forum for Sustainable Development 2022 via teleconference, which was organised by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia under the theme “Recovery and resilience” at the UN office in Beirut, according to a Planning Ministry statement.

The minister said that the forum mainly focuses on the required practical approach to support the recovery and improve the resilience of Arab countries, stressing the importance of enhancing international partnerships and cooperation, side by side with obtaining the necessary funds to speed up the pace of implementing development commitments.

He added that the impact of the pandemic has exceeded the capabilities and expectation of most countries due to the nature of the pandemic and the requirements to deal with it at the health and economic levels.

The minister also acquainted participants in the forum with the programmes of economic stimulation, social protection and preserving jobs at the private sector, which the government had applied to deal with the pandemic.

Shraideh said that despite procedures taken by countries, economic growth rates are still below ambitions, and poverty and unemployment rates are still within critical levels, especially among youth and women, referring to the financial burdens incurred by countries with small economies as a result of the repercussions of the pandemic.

He also said that the outset of the Russian-Ukrainian war will exacerbate the magnitude of existing challenges for governments in the region, where the ramifications of the war has started to surface with the price hikes of oil and gas, supplies of basic foodstuff, and prices of main commodities.