Conference seeks to expand services sector internationally

By Omar Obeidat

AMMAN – Local and foreign experts in the services sector discussed with public and private stakeholders ways to boost the sector’s competitiveness and to review the challenges facing its progress.

In addition to discussing the current conditions of the service sector in the aftermath of the global economic crisis, participants looked into means to enable the sector penetrate more international markets as it accounts for around 70 per cent of the Kingdom’s gross domestic product.

At the two-day conference, organised by the Jordan Enterprise Development Corporation (JEDCO), a committee will be formed from representatives from the public and private sectors concerned with the service sector as well as other stakeholders to launch a strategy that seeks to develop the services industry in the country, according to JEDCO.

The strategy aims at enhancing coordination between concerned institutions in terms of decision making in a bid to achieve sustainable economic development.

In his speech at the inauguration of the event, titled “Harnessing Services for Sustainable Developments: Opportunities and Challenges”, which was launched under the Jordan Services Modernisation Programme, which is funded by the EU, Industry and Trade Minister Amer Hadidi highlighted the importance of raising the efficiency of the service sector in Jordan, which he said employs over 75 per cent of the local labour force.

Indicating that the free trade agreements Jordan has signed with several countries have contributed to developing the sector and enabled many local service providers to enter other markets, Hadidi indicated that the services industry’s contribution of external trade reached 42 per cent last year.

He said that the 2010-2014 national strategy for external trade gave a priority to the service sector as it seeks to boost its competitiveness and facilitate procedures to open new markets.

JEDCO Chief Executive Officer Yarub Qudah said the performance of the services sector in Jordan is higher than other countries in the region and can match sector performance in some advanced economies.

He explained that revenues of the private service sector in Jordan do not have the same contribution to the national economy as in advanced countries because value-added services, such as knowledge intensive and business-oriented services, are the main engines in developed countries’ economies while in Jordan around 45 per cent of revenues and the value-added to the economy comes from government and defence services in addition to the construction sector.

He elaborated that over the past eight years, productivity of the majority of local services were relatively low except for services related to financial, transportation, telecommunications and health sectors.

Qudah referred to official figures showing that Jordan’s exported services were worth $4.17 billion last year while imported services reached $3.6 billion.

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