AMMAN
— Many international observers, analysts, and politicians described His Majesty
King Abdullah’s visit to the US as a major political development at this time, which
has led to a repositioning of Jordan’s roles and status in the region.
اضافة اعلان
However,
political development was not the only pillar on the King’s agenda during the
visit. There was a clear and positive leap on the economic level, too, which
was articulated by US president
Joe Biden’s direct question to His Majesty: “If
you were in my position, how would you help Jordan?”
The
question was a key indication of America’s willingness to aid Jordan and the
US’s persistence to provide support to the King, in addition to Jordan’s exceptional
status in relevance to the US political system. The King’s discussions with the
US administration and chiefs indicated the full openness of the US government
to provide economic support to Jordan.
The
positive leap on the economic level was obvious in the following categories:
US aid to Jordan
The
usual US aid to Jordan file, which amounts to $1.275 billion annually, as part
of a five-year memorandum of understanding, will come to an end in April 2021. However,
the green light was given to launch new negotiations to increase the aid to reach
$1.65 billion annually within a new memorandum lasting between seven to ten
years. The usual aid from the memorandum does not include any additional or
exceptional aid to the Kingdom, which sometimes amounts to $300 million.
This
file also included increasing the amount of direct support to the budget to $840
million annually, which would make Jordan the third highest recipient of American
aid on a global level.
The Caesar Act
The
Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act sets strict sanctions on economic deals
made with the Syrian government. The King has put this subject at the top of
his discussions, since Jordan must have some leeway regarding this law as the
host of one of the largest number of refugees, which puts more economic burdens
on the Kingdom. The law also affects Jordan-Syrian economic deals, and
increases the challenges and burdens on the state’s treasury, which already
suffers a $2 billion deficit.
The
American administration listened to the King’s demands with interest, and is
currently studying the matter to help Jordan in avoiding the volatile regional
situation. Many Jordanian economic sectors will have a chance to take part in
that positive leap, including the airline sector, which will play a major role
in Syrian, transferring shipments and passengers, in addition to the industrial
sectors, which will have a chance to enter the Syrian market with high
quantities of commodities and services. For example, the food industry,
pharmaceuticals, construction services, and land transfer, in addition to
Jordanian medical exports, will all certainly increase the national exports to
Syria by more than $300 million.
The National Desalination Project
The
National Desalination Project will be one of the most vital projects in Jordan
in the next few years, since Jordan is among the 10 water-scarce countries in
the world. Thus, the government must not delay the implementation of the
project any longer, taking into consideration the total cost of the project,
which amounts to around $2.4 billion. Additionally, the government will be
submitting international tender documents in October 2021 to 7 investment coalitions, who are expected to study the papers and
provide their technical presentations after seven months. The following stage will
have an “economic sensitivity” feature, during which financial negotiations
will take place.
US
aid to the desalination project is very important, since it is not only limited
to technical and financial support but is also about supporting Jordan in its
stance to implement the project in the fastest possible manner, and abolishing
any political obstructions that neighboring countries might impose on the
project.
Upon
US approval, the aid will amount to $100 million, earmarked for the Al-Bahrain
Channel Project, which was previously canceled due to political reasons. Jordan
is also looking to increase the aid in order to decrease the financial cost on
the national economy, and to find new financing sources at a lower interest
rate, which will boost national economy revenues and support its development
stability.
Supporting the private sector
The
fourth pillar involves supporting the private sector by launching economic
campaigns to help the sector overcome the repercussions of COVID-19 and to
benefit from the economic recovery initiatives that US financial institutions
provide.
The
King put forth the private sector issue before the American administration and
international organizations. The first one involves opening the American market
to receive Jordanian commodities and eliminate the obstacles these goods might
be subject to in customs, in addition to other goods including animals,
agricultural, iron, aluminum, panels, and renewable energy technology. This
will provide a great opportunity for national products to penetrate the
international market and receive exceptional privileges.
The
second direction is related to supporting the establishment of entrepreneurship
funds for promising sectors, including but not limited to information
technology, which will increase national exports.
Supporting employment for women and youth
The
fifth pillar involves supporting the national economy and providing financial
and technical aid that will enhance women’s participation and presence in the
country’s economy, through incentives and facilitations, which will create jobs
to empower women and youth in work and the economy. Hence, official efforts to
counter unemployment will finally pay off after unemployment reached the
unprecedented level of 25 percent, and youth unemployment 50 percent.
Developing the public sector
US
aid will help Jordan develop its public sector administration and improve services
for the public and the private sectors, while leveraging American expertise to
improve services. Administrative services now constitute a nightmare for economic
policy-makers due to their deterioration compared to previous periods.
Ongoing support for Jordan
US
political and economic support to Jordan has been reaffirmed, showing a
persistence and American openness to provide support for the Kingdom. This,
undoubtedly, will enhance Jordan’s presence and stance with international
economic organizations, especially the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and international
insurance companies, with which Jordan has made agreements and work programs.
This will lead to more positive engagement and enhance the economic reform
processes, abolish the structural disruptions and
deficiencies from which the economy suffers, and support the COVID-19 recovery.
American
aid to Jordan is a strategic matter, especially with the indirect “economic
siege” the Kingdom suffers from due to neighboring countries. Thus, the
government must rearrange its internal economic house and cooperate with the
private sector to benefit from the recent positive political state that His
Majesty created with US President Biden and other officials, as well as to
benefit from the international economy, which runs the world and international
economic decisions.
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