AMMAN — His
Majesty
King Abdullah on Saturday followed up on the second round of the
National Economic Workshop, held at the Royal Hashemite Court under the theme
“Advancing into the Future: Unleashing Potential to Modernise the Economy”,
according to a Royal Court statement.
اضافة اعلان
During a visit to the workshop, King Abdullah,
accompanied by Prime Minister Bisher Al-Khasawneh, spoke to participants in all
sectors, and listened to briefings on ongoing discussions.
His Majesty stressed the need to clearly define
priorities in order to move forward and build on achievements, calling on
participants to put forward direct recommendations on swift actions the
government can take.
Speaking to participants in the mining sector, the
King highlighted the importance of facilitating measures and legislation, as
well as building on international best practices to enhance mining’s
contribution to the national economy, in addition to establishing a database
for this sector.
Participants in the mining sector called for exploring
untapped resources and capitalizing on the added value of current resources to
enhance Jordan’s competitiveness and bolster regional integration, stressing
the need to build on investments in resources that support the economy, such as
potash and phosphate.
Speaking to participants in the creative industries
sector, which covered film industry this week, His Majesty said this important
sector has witnessed significant progress, citing a need to set strategies to
enhance it further, and promote quality content and local talents to reflect
positively on local communities and the economy, and enhance Jordan’s regional
competitiveness.
In addition, the King called for attracting more
international productions to film in Jordan, while also creating more Arabic
content that reflects the culture of Jordan and the region.
His Majesty said Jordan is rich with talents, an
invaluable asset, noting that the success of the creative industries will have
a positive impact on many other sectors and on local communities.
Participants in the sector highlighted Jordan’s
advantages in the film industry, including the wealth of talent and the suitable
environment, adding that the workshop is an opportunity to identify the points
of strength and challenges, as well as setting a strategic plan to move forward
with advancing the sector.
Citing a need to enhance the government’s support for
creative industries, participants called for building on Jordan’s achievements
in this field over the past 10 years.
Speaking to participants in the transportation and
logistical services sector, the King highlighted the need for the sector’s
roadmap to include investment opportunities in regional connectivity projects,
such as the railway project, and to build on Jordan’s strategic partnerships
with Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq.
In addition, His Majesty pointed to the need to renew
the public transportation fleet in Jordan, and to integrate vehicles powered by
clean and renewable energy into public transport.
During a discussion with participants in the tourism
sector, the King noted its important contribution to the economy and its
benefits for local communities, calling for investing in opportunities in
medical and adventure tourism, and enhancing efforts towards recovery from the
impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Participants representing the education sector spoke
before His Majesty of education as an enabler for all other sectors, as
education offers other sectors the human resources needed to enhance the
economy.
They added that the workshop arranged the sector into
sub-sectors: early childhood, primary and secondary education, higher
education, and professional and vocational training, with this week’s meetings
covering primary and secondary education.
The
National Economic Workshop seeks to evaluate the
performance of the national economy, identify opportunities to develop economic
sectors and enhance their competitiveness, and come up with a roadmap to
enhance growth, create opportunities, and improve quality of life and services
for Jordanians.
The workshop was launched last Saturday upon the
King’s directives, and it continues over five weeks with the possibility to be
extended further for additional rounds during the month of Ramadan if needed,
especially for taskforces covering cross-cutting sectors and sub-sectors.
The workshop brings together nearly 300 economists and
experts, representing the private sector, industry and commerce chambers, the
government, Parliament, academia, public institutions, civil society, and the
media.
The sectors covered in the workshop are: agriculture
and food security, energy, water, mining, ICT, financial services and markets,
healthcare, trade and e-commerce, manufacturing and industry, including
pharmaceutical industries, tourism, education and the labor market, transport
and logistics, urban development and climate change, and creative industries.
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