Investors urged to voice concerns, solutions promised

AMMAN (JT) – His Majesty King Abdullah on Tuesday emphasised the need to seriously and swiftly respond to investors’ demands to enable them to expand their projects in the Kingdom.

The King, during a meeting yesterday with Arab and foreign investors, stressed the importance of investment in creating job opportunities and achieving the sought-after growth, urging authorities to offer investors all facilities and guidance, according to a Royal Court statement.

In addition, the Monarch urged investors to determine the priorities that need to be addressed by authorities, and directed the government to prepare a strategy to enhance foreign investment in the Kingdom, the statement said.

Addressing investors, the King said that reaching out to investors to identify and address flaws in the investment promotion process comes at a time when Jordan is seriously pursuing economic and political reform. The aim, he said, is to forge partnerships between the private and public sectors and empower the private sector and Arab and foreign investors to play an influential role in the sustainable development process in the country.

The King expressed his optimism over Jordan’s economic outlook, saying that the future holds “encouraging and rewarding opportunities”.

The Monarch also noted more work needs to be done to stimulate the economy and subsequently create more job opportunities to combat unemployment, which, he described, as one of the biggest challenges facing the country.

The King also pointed out that despite the turbulence and instability prevailing in the Arab region, Jordan has remained a pioneering country in its adoption of political, economic and social reform agendas, according to the statement.

For their part, investors representing the industry, mining, banks, transportation, communication and information technology sectors, stressed that despite the huge challenges facing the region, Jordan is considered one of the best places to do investment, describing the investment environment in the Kingdom as “encouraging and attractive”, adding that they deem their ventures in the country “strategic”.

They voiced commitment to proceeding with their investment plans in Jordan “despite the challenges facing the economic sectors”.

The businesspeople also indicated that they consider Jordan as a gate to investment in regional countries, namely the Iraqi market which “requires tremendous efforts to revive”, according to the statement.

They called on authorities to accelerate measures and decisions related to their businesses in Jordan, especially legal procedures, the statement said.

Minister of Industry and Trade Hani Mulki indicated that the government is fully aware of investors’ concerns, blaming the regional developments for Jordan’s failure to realise its full potential this year.

Mulki added that the government has enacted new pieces of legislation to accelerate measures and stimulate the investment environment, foremost of which was the Investment Law.

jordantimes