The Council of Ministers, in its session held today, Sunday, headed by Prime Minister Dr. Bishr Al-Khasawneh, approved the reasons for the draft planning and international cooperation law for the year 2023 AD.

The draft law comes in implementation of the executive program for the modernization of the public sector, which stipulated in its legislative component the revision of Planning Law No. 68 of 1971 AD, and the introduction of amendments that ensure complementarity of roles and responsibilities between all parties in managing government performance in a manner that ensures coherence with budget planning and resources.

It also comes due to the absence of any amendment to the Planning Law for a long time, and the consideration of the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation as the legal successor to the National Planning Council, and the activation of ineffective legal provisions in the current law, such as the texts related to the Board of Directors of the National Planning Council and the Economic Security Council.

The draft law aims to emphasize the role of the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation as a basic reference with regard to communication between all ministries and governmental and private institutions, and between sources of external funding from other countries and foreign and international institutions and others.

The draft law includes adding new tasks to the work of the ministry, including: regulating the mechanism for obtaining foreign funding provided by donors and international agencies to non-profit associations and companies and following it up, without prejudice to the provisions of relevant legislation, developing the Kingdom’s economic policy, and supporting policy-making. National, in coordination and cooperation with all concerned parties.

It will also be added to the ministry’s tasks the task of managing the national register of government investment projects established under the provisions of the Partnership Projects Law between the public and private sectors No. (17) of 2020 AD, and following up on updating its data to document studies, documents and reports related to government investment projects, and developing plans to follow up on the implementation of priority economic reforms in coordination with the concerned authorities.

According to the draft law, the ministry will undertake the task of developing and preparing development initiatives of added value to the national economy, contributing to their financing in partnership with the implementing agencies, working on following them up and evaluating their impact, in addition to following up on the Kingdom’s ranking in international reports and indicators, and developing perceptions about measures to improve it.

The Cabinet also approved the reasons for a draft system amending the system for regulating and controlling billing affairs for the year 2023 AD, given the completion of building the electronic national billing program, which enables all taxpayers committed to issuing invoices to join or link with the system, in a way that unifies the bases and requirements of the tax bill, whether Whether it is the sale of a commodity or the provision of a service in return for consideration.

The system project also comes to set the legislative framework for approving the data of the electronic national billing system instead of saving the invoices on paper, and to get rid of the risks of keeping and transferring these invoices.

The Cabinet approved the National Export Strategy (2023-2025 AD); In preparation for the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply to take the necessary measures to implement the recommendations contained therein, by preparing detailed plans and defining the financing needs for their implementation, in addition to forming a national team and sectoral teams that include in its membership all concerned parties from the public and private sectors for the purposes of implementation.

The strategy includes working on two axes. The first is related to supporting the efficiency of production factors and infrastructure through access to financing, quality management and technical conformity, building export capabilities for companies, transfer of knowledge, provision of trade information, trade facilitation and logistic services.

The second is related to diversification in product markets by strengthening the regulatory and legislative framework, supporting goods with high added value, supporting services exports, and promoting e-commerce.

The Council of Ministers agreed to extend the implementation of its previous decision, which included exempting marketing companies’ imports of diesel, octane gasoline (90, 95, and 98), kerosene, (JET-A1) and (JP-8) from customs duties (the unified fee), until the end of the year. The current one is 2023 AD.

On the other hand, the Council of Ministers approved the reconstitution of the Board of Trustees of the Hashemite Fund for the Reconstruction of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, headed by His Highness Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad, with the membership of: Minister of Awqaf, Islamic Affairs and Holy Sites, Minister of Interior, Grand Mufti of the Kingdom, Chief Justice, and Abd al-Rahim al-Akour. , Chairman of the Jerusalem Endowment Council, Director General of the Jerusalem Endowment Department and the Blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque Affairs, Director General of the Palestinian Affairs Department, Director of Al-Aqsa Mosque and Jerusalem Affairs in the Ministry of Endowments, Dr. Sunaina, Financial Director of the Jerusalem Endowments Department, and Head of the Department of Securities of the Blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.