Council of Jordan's Future Vision in 2021 Holds its Third Meeting at Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Knowledge Forum

Council of Jordans Future Vision in 2021 Holds its Third Meeting at Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Knowledge Forum

AMMAN – July 1, 2014- The Economic Policy Development Forum at the Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Knowledge Forum held the third meeting of the Council of Jordans Vision in 2021.

At the outset of the meeting, HE Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, Chairman of the Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Organization (TAG-Org), confirmed that what is being addressed and discussed by the members is not a plan, program, nor even a strategy; rather, it is a vision of what is desired for Jordan come its centenary in 2021.

HE Dr. Mohammad Abu-Hammour, Head of the Economic and Development Component; HE Ms. Reem Badran, Head of the Political Component; and Mr. Fadi Daoud, Head of the Social Component, presented, on behalf of HE Senator Ms. Haifa Najjar, Head of the Team, what had been achieved by the three teams formed by the Council to draw the proposed policy. After extensive discussions, it was decided to submit drafts of the three Components work on September 30 and to hold the forth meeting of the Council on July 16.

Dr. Yusuf Mansour, a member of the Forum, stated: "we do not want Jordan to enjoy high growth rates without employment". Elaborating, he said: "In spite of the strong economic performance between 2004-2008 where the real growth rate [a measure of the growth of the gross domestic product that has been adjusted for inflation] reached 8% yearly [which was one of the highest growth rates in the world at that time], the growth was not accompanied by high employment rates; on the contrary, the high growth rate was accompanied by a high unemployment rate [13.4%], which means that Jordanians did not benefit from the growth in terms of employment. Moreover, during the low growth rate period of 2010–2013, when the real growth rate reached 2.6%, unemployment rates were also low in comparison with the periods of high economic growth, as they fell to 12.5%".

Dr. Mansour pointed out the trend that whenever the economic growth declines in Jordan, the unemployment rate declines as well, which is exactly the opposite of what is requested from the economic management and predicted by the laws of economics. Furthermore, this strange phenomenon generates the issue: what is the use of economic growth if it does not generate employment opportunities for Jordanians?

The Council decided to send all the studies in relation to the economy to the members of the forum to give their opinion, and to the competent authorities at the Chamber of Commerce, the Chamber of Industry and others. The Council welcomed any views, studies, or projects to be studied jointly.

It is worth mentioning that since its meeting of incorporation on April 16, the Council of Jordans Future Vision in 2021 has been bent on holding regular meetings with the support of the Forums experts. It seeks to achieve the vision of His Majesty King Abdallah II Bin Al Hussein in response to his directions that all components of the State, including the private sector, should cooperate to present recommendations to achieve the desired vision.

The Economic Policy Development Forum was established in June 2011 as an independent, unofficial, self-voluntary initiative that aims to promote economic development. It consists of former ministers and officials, intellectuals, businessmen, academics, and civil society leaders.  The work teams derived from the Forum have conducted many studies in various fields, and have highlighted the weaknesses and imbalances in the States institutions in order to address and rectify them.