Jordan's PM reviews government's 2019 achievements

AMMAN The government implemented 58 of its 63 pledges in 2019, with a completion rate of 92 per cent, Prime Minister Omar Razzaz said on Monday.

During a ceremony at the Prime Ministry to announce the 2019 government report, Razzaz highlighted the importance of last year's achievements, pledging to continue on the same trajectory, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

National exports increased by 8.2 per cent in the first 10 months of 2019, while imports went down by 5.5 per cent and the trade balance deficit decreased by 14 per cent from JD7.346 billion in 2018 to JD6.391 in 2019, he said.

Also in 2019, the number of individual institutions went up by 17.5 per cent, the volume of companies' capitals by 30.6 per cent, the number of registered companies by 10 per cent and the number of registered trademarks by 47 per cent, the premier noted.

Tourism income also grew by 9.9 per cent, the number of medical tourists by 40 per cent and the number of adventure tourists by 25 per cent, Razzaz added.

The prime minister said that between October 21 and December 31, the sale of lands for housing purposes increased by 81 per cent, while the sale of apartments whose total area is less than 180 square metres went up by 33 per cent and those exceeding 180 square metres by 133 per cent.

Jordanian expatriates' remittances in the first 11 months of the year saw an increase of 1.4 per cent, Razzaz said, adding that the foreign currency reserves increased by $849 million in 2019.

He noted that the cost of energy was reduced for additional consumption in all economic sectors, adding that pumping of Egyptian gas and Iraqi oil resumed and agreements on energy purchases were reviewed.

Regarding the agricultural sector, the prime minister said that exports of agricultural produce increased by 4.6 per cent and livestock exports by 100 per cent.

Regarding the most important global indicators, Jordan, for the first time since the launch of the World Bank's Doing Business report, was listed among the top three countries to achieve reforms, ranking 75th on the 2020 report compared with 104th on the 2019 report, the premier said.

Razzaz noted that Jordan's ranking in the 2020 Doing Business report's Resolving Insolvency indicator jumped to 112th, compared with its 150th ranking in the 2019 report.

As for the report's Getting Credit indicator, Jordan advanced from 134th in 2018 to fourth in 2019, and moved forwards from 95th to 62nd on the Paying Taxes indicator, he added.

Meanwhile, he pointed to the transition of many authorities from central ministries to the governorates as part of the decentralisation project.

The premier also highlighted the direct raise of salaries for the first time since 2013, linking it to performance indicators.