AMMAN —
Minister of Industry, Trade, and Supply Yousef Al-Shamali reaffirmed the government’s
seriousness in cooperating with the private sector to boost industrial and
other exports, Ammon News reported.
اضافة اعلان
The minister
pointed to the important role played by the private sector in supporting the
Jordanian economy, and employing national manpower. He said the ministry will
form a committee to follow up on the issues of industrialists and investors,
and that it will be headed by the ministry’s secretary-general to resolve any
future hurdles.
The comment came
during Shamali’s meeting with the industrial sector at the
Amman Chamber of Industry on Saturday.
The meeting was
attended by his ministry’s secretary-general, the director-general of the
General Organization for Social Security, the director-general of the Standards
and Metrology Organization, the general controller of companies, the
director-general of the Civil Consumer Corporation, the director general of the
Jordan Enterprise Development Corporation (JEDCO), the director general of the
Vocational Training Corporation, the director of the Skills Development
Department, and the deputy director of the Development and Employment Fund.
Shamali pointed
that the Economic Modernization Vision set a road map for the next stage to
advance and support the national economy, as the focus during the coming period
will be on vocational and technical training.
He said that
nine councils have been established, all from the private sector. They are
capable of determining their employment needs, which will lead to reducing the
unemployment rates. He expressed hope that Jordan will have 100 percent purely
Jordanian workers in factories across the Kingdom.
With regard to
hurdles which industrialists may face with the Customs Department, Shamali said
that there is a reform project at the Customs Department, which outlines
dealings at border crossings.
He said the
project, which will see the light soon, will facilitate and simplify procedures
for importers and exporters, as all the regulatory authorities working on the
borders will operate under the umbrella of the Customs Department.
That, he added,
will ensure that there are no delays in executing transactions. He pointed out
that the cost of time and money paid at border crossings are the lowest in the
region.
Studies showed that an increase in exports by JD2 billion can create about 80,000 new jobs. ...
Shamali said
that the new draft social security law is still under review, and that some of
its articles are be reconsidered.
He said it was
important to support the national exports, and enhance the competitiveness of
Jordanian industries locally and abroad, as the government is considering to
set up an international exhibition center that will contribute to promoting
national industry.
Shamali said
that the government continued to delay the entry of Jordanian trucks into the
Palestinian territories. But he added that the reason for the delay was due to
the Palestinian Authority endorsing the port of
Aqaba for its imports, which
put pressure on the land ports because of a lack of sufficient Palestinian
trucks to transport the inbound goods.
Transportation
of goods between Jordan and Palestine is back-to-back, he noted. He said that
the government, in coordination with the Palestinian side, is studying the
possibility of establishing a bonded customs area.
Shamali
explained that the Kingdom’s economic situation is stable and witnessing
growth. He said the economy has passed the fifth review of the
International Monetary Fund’s mission to Jordan earlier this month. The visit, he noted,
resulted in raising the Kingdom’s credit rating to B+, which makes it
attractive, with no complications for investors.
Fathi
Al-Jaghbir, head of the Jordan and Amman chambers of industry, confirmed that
the meeting is the first of its kind that the chamber organized with officials
concerned with industrial work in the Kingdom. He said the meeting discussed
issues of concern to the industrial sector.
Jaghbir
explained that the increase in national industrial exports contributes to
alleviating the unemployment problem in the Kingdom.
Studies showed
that an increase in exports by JD2 billion can create about 80,000 new jobs, which
requires enhancing the competitiveness of national industries by reducing
production costs, especially with regard to energy and transportation prices,
providing skilled and qualified labor, and applying reciprocity with countries
that put obstacles in the way of industrial exports to it.
Jaghbir called
for facilitating the entry of Jordanian industrial products into the markets of
the civil consumer institution, as well as addressing all obstacles to the
entry of these products to malls and major markets in the Kingdom.
During the
coming period, the visits of industrial delegations organized by the government
with the chambers of industry contributed to increasing national exports to
several target markets, he said. He noted that the Export Support Fund recently
launched by the government with a capital of JD90 million over three years,
will contribute significantly to stimulating national factories to increase and
diversify their exports to foreign markets.
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