Report recommends stimulating the marketing

A group of leading economists and business representatives listed mining, renewable energy (wind and solar power), tourism, information technology and communications and the visual media as promising sectors that need to be stimulated and marketed properly. After concluding week-long discussions, the economic dialogue committee, which included around 40 experts, mentioned that Jordan enjoys several advantages over other regional countries and announced recommendations on ways to stimulate the Kingdom’s economy in the short and medium terms. Despite regional and international developments, Jordan has always enjoyed security and a stable political system, the experts highlighted, pointing out that the Kingdom’s excessive liquidity at the banking sector makes it more attractive for investors. In addition to its strategic geographic location, Jordan has large numbers of educated labour force, who only need training to replace foreign workers, the pundits noted, indicating that the number of unemployed people in the country represents 50 per cent of guest workers. In the report presented to the Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit Sunday, the experts also mentioned the major impediments to economic growth, stating that fiscal policy has always been given priority over the economic objectives. Pointing out to the absence of long-term economic policy as well as lack of just distribution of development gains, the economists and private sector representatives criticised bureaucracy in the public sector and cited contradiction in some legislations. The report also put in the spotlight poor coordination and partnership relations between private and public sectors noting that the government competes with the private sector in some activities. “Economic measures and mechanisms change when sector leaders are changed,” the experts said in the report indicating that the government sometimes is not committed to implement economic strategies. According to the committee, the appeasement policies that are resorted to in solving labour disputes are in contradiction to laws and without referring to the legal system is also one of the major problems. They said that the lack of special sectoral financing agencies has also affected the development of the economy. The economic dialogue committee was formed by Bakhit late last month in a bid come up with solutions for the current economic woes and with proposals to fuel growth during 2012 and 2013.