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Ammon News - Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Nasser Shraideh and the United Kingdom Minister of State for Asia and the Middle East Amanda Milling co-chaired the fourth Jordan Taskforce meeting to follow up on outcomes of the 2019 London Initiative.

The meeting was also attended by Minister of Finance Mohammad Al-Ississ, British Ambassador to Jordan Bridget Brind, and several ambassadors and senior representatives of donor countries and relevant international finance institutions.

According to a ministry statement Sunday, the meeting involved two interactive sessions, the first focused on policy reforms to promote economic recovery, growth and job creation, and the other addressed the energy and water sectors as two key sectors to switch to a green economy that is resilient in the face of challenges. This meeting is part of ongoing efforts to mobilize support from the international community towards Jordan's economic reform agenda.

Shraideh lauded donors' ongoing support that is provided to the Jordan Growth Multi-Donor Trust Fund, which has been instrumental in providing needed technical and operational support to various ministries and government institutions.

Recently, he noted, Norway and Germany have contributed to the Fund that is currently being funded by UK, Canada and Netherlands. He also acknowledged the US Agency for International Development and other partners for supporting the government in implementing Jordan’s Reform Matrix.

Shraideh reviewed challenges and opportunities in the Kingdom, calling on the international community to strengthen partnerships to support Jordan meeting its ambitions for greener and more inclusive growth. He spoke about the importance of continuing support to most affected communities and sectors from the pandemic, protecting jobs and private sector, in addition to ensuring that the refugee community is not left behind.

"We are achieving economic and structural reforms through the Reform Matrix and Jordan’s International Monetary Fund program, but we still need support to switch Jordan into digital and green economy, stimulate public sector investments and keep an eye on vulnerable population who need different types of support and continue that work to create more jobs and achieve economic growth," Shraideh stated.

For her part, Milling said: "Jordan has demonstrated its commitment to delivering urgent and impactful reforms, including announcing critical reforms in the energy sector. It is important to maintain momentum on the steps necessary to deliver inclusive and sustainable growth and jobs for Jordanians and for Jordan’s friends continue to support it in doing so. And I am proud that the UK is at heart of international support for these reforms."

"We will continue to help Jordan deliver the ambitious commitments made at CoP26, to increase its economic stability and to continue to grow and thrive," Milling underlined.

Al-Ississ in turn gave an update on the macroeconomic and fiscal framework, highlighting recent fiscal reforms and its impacts on macro-fiscal indicators, including the progress achieved within the current framework arrangement with the International Monetary Fund.

"Despite a challenging political economy backdrop, the government of Jordan has implemented a series of significant structural reforms that aim to improve private sector experience, lower costs of consumer goods through lowering customs tariffs, and improve transparency."

The meeting also included comments from representatives of the international community, in which they offered their support to the government’s efforts and highlighted the important role that the Reform Matrix has in transforming Jordan’s economy. Also, attendees recognized Jordan's progress in implementing economic reforms and urged support for further reforms which will strengthen Jordan’s stability and prosperity. Furthermore, participants discussed how best to support Jordan to deliver inclusive and sustainable economic growth to deliver its priorities.

The Jordan Task Force was first launched as a result of the London Initiative, which was held in February 2019, during which Jordan’s Reform Matrix (2018-2024) was also introduced, included a set of structural reforms that aim at boost inclusive growth and create jobs.

Since then, the Jordan Taskforce meets regularly to review progress on three fronts including growth and reform, debt stabilization, and investment. It is also tasked with following up on the support provided by the international community to finance Jordan’s reform agenda.