Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II of Jordan attended part of the National Economic Workshop, held at the Royal Hashemite Court under the theme – Advancing into the Future: Unleashing Potential to Modernize the Economy. The sessions he attended covered transportation, tourism, financial services and markets, as well as trade and e-commerce, and he listened to participants’ views on their sectors for the upcoming period, as well as their proposed solutions.
Prince Al Hussein stressed the importance of partnerships as a means to achieving clear and tangible outcomes that reflect positively on Jordanians. Participants in the transportation sector said that it supports other significant economic sectors, but that it has been faced with challenges. Nevertheless, they expressed optimism about the sector’s future and expressed support for capitalizing on renewable energy sources and smart technology in public transportation.
In addressing this sector’s aspirations, the participants said Jordan aspires to attract foreign investments, through investments in its strengths as a niche tourism market. They emphasized efforts to further promote Jordan as a destination for medical and religious tourism, as well as ecotourism. In addition, Jordan wants to invest in its robust infrastructure by utilizing the latest technology.
As directed by the Royal decree, the financial services and markets sector is working to advance job opportunities, empower the middle class, and improve the livelihoods of Jordanians. This is done with a focus on identifying challenges, growth priorities, and methods of achieving progress in the short and long term. This sector is considered an enabler for other economic sectors in Jordan.
Those in the trade sector pointed out that the majority of workers in the sector are Jordanians, highlighting plans to capitalize on Jordan’s strategic location and its regional and international relations as well as developing logistics services and advancing e-commerce, claiming plans to double the volume of the sector and provide 120,000 jobs for Jordanians over the next 10 years.