The International Monetary Fund mission team, headed by Ron Van Roden, concluded its visit to the Kingdom, after conducting the sixth performance review, within the economic reform program developed by the government and supported by the Extended Financing Program from the International Monetary Fund.

The Minister of Finance, Dr. Muhammad Al-Ississ, confirmed in a joint press conference held today, Wednesday, with the head of the International Monetary Fund mission, Ron Van Roden, that this review is an essential pillar to confirm the strength of the Jordanian economy and the confidence of the international community and global international financial institutions in the stability of the Jordanian economy, supported by financial and monetary reforms. .

Al-Ississ indicated that Jordan was able to maintain its financial and monetary stability in the most volatile global conditions, and in light of the economic difficulties faced by many countries in the world. Because of the reforms undertaken by the government to enhance the stability and resilience of the economy.

He stressed that the Jordanian economic reform program, which is supported by the extended facilitation program from the International Monetary Fund, is a Jordanian program that was developed by Jordanian hands, and that our belief in economic reform is a true belief in strengthening the strength and stability of the Jordanian economy.

For his part, the head of the International Monetary Fund mission stated, during the press conference, that the International Monetary Fund team and the government had reached an agreement at the expert level regarding the sixth review of the economic reform program supported by the International Monetary Fund through the Extended Financing Program, and that the completion of this review will raise the total IMF disbursements since the program began in 2020 to SDR 1,300 million (approximately $1,750 million), subject to approval by the Fund’s senior management and Executive Board.

He pointed out that despite the difficult global and regional conditions, Jordan succeeded in maintaining macroeconomic stability and access to international capital markets through prudent monetary and financial policies, explaining that as a result, Jordan’s program supported by the International Monetary Fund is still on the right track. , with all major quantitative targets achieved supported by strong performance on structural benchmarks.

Roden indicated that the government succeeded in reducing the primary deficit (excluding grants) by 0.8 percent of GDP, to 3.7 percent of GDP for 2022, as timely measures were taken to offset the higher support cost.

He praised the success of the Central Bank of Jordan in maintaining monetary and financial stability, explaining that the central bank is committed to the fixed exchange rate system for the dinar against the dollar, and has raised interest rates on monetary policy tools; In line with the US Federal Reserve, which led to relatively moderate inflation rates and began to decline.

He added that the banking system maintained a high level of capital and liquidity, as confirmed by the recent report of the Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSSA).

The International Monetary Fund indicated, in a statement read out after the press conference, that the economic recovery from the Corona pandemic is still continuing, expecting real GDP growth to reach about 2.6 percent in 2023, which is considered insufficient to improve the citizen’s life, while inflation will decrease to 2.7 percent. percent in 2023, thanks to the appropriate monetary policy. He also expected the growth rate to rise in the medium term to 3 percent, despite the high degree of uncertainty in the global economic outlook.

The Fund called for the continuation of existing prudent government policies to maintain macroeconomic stability, with the aim of continuing to reduce the primary deficit of the central government (excluding grants) to 2.9 percent of GDP in 2023, towards gradually reducing public debt to 80 percent of GDP by 2028. This is done by continuing reforms to expand the tax base fairly and raise the efficiency of government expenditures. Continuous efforts to address the high deficit in the electricity sector are also necessary to ensure the sustainability of public finances.

And that monetary policy will need to continue to give priority to maintaining the fixed exchange rate of the dinar against the dollar, supported by appropriate and safe levels of international reserves.

He pointed out that in light of the current unemployment rate at 22.9 percent, especially among youth and women, structural reforms are necessary to achieve strong and inclusive growth rich in job opportunities, explaining that this includes enhancing the ease of doing business and reducing its cost, strengthening competition, increasing the flexibility of the labor market, and enhancing Governance and transparency.

He added that while progress has been made in these reforms, more needs to be done to create a more dynamic private sector, attract more investment, and achieve economic growth rich in job opportunities, pointing to the importance of donor countries and development partners communicating to support Jordan; By providing easy financial support to help him bear the burden of supporting and hosting refugees.