Secretary-General of Ministry of Investment, Zaher Qatarneh, stressed the need to support process of pan-Arab economic integration and strengthen joint relations in the investment and trade fields.
This call comes, in light of the “modest” stake of inter-Arab trade, which represents 13.8% of the Arab countries’ total foreign trade, he said.
Taking part in the first session of the Regional Investment Conference on Thursday, Qatarneh pointed to the “low” share of Arab countries in foreign direct investment flows, which amounted to 2.4% during 2012-2021.
Locally, he said Jordan’s new investment environment bill granted multiple “attractive, feasible and unprecedented” investor incentives and advantages, which include exempting fixed assets, production requirements and inputs and spare parts for economic activity from customs duties and reducing general sales tax on a large number of commodities to zero rate.
The draft law also has possibility of exempting economic activities from due income tax, or reduction by no less than 30% for a 5-year period in the Kingdom’s least developed regions, or projects that employ at least 250 Jordanians, he pointed out.
During a session entitled: “Political Horizon and Arab Investment Cooperation,” he said Jordan enters its second centennial by focusing on 3 modernization tracks in the political and economic fields and development of its public sector.
Economic Modernization Vision is a road map for the next ten years, and an important turning point, he said.
This vision would unleash Jordanian economy’s potentials to achieve comprehensive and sustainable economic growth, increase the Kingdom’s gross domestic product to about $82 billion by 2033, compared to the current value of nearly $43 billion, and employ more than 1 million young people in the Jordanian labor market, he said.
The government, he noted, has adopted a slew of priorities in the organizational and institutional fields, aimed to enhancing national economy’s competitiveness and improving the Kingdom’s business and investment environment.
The government also unified investment references by establishing Ministry of Investment as an authority tasked with managing investor affairs in the Kingdom and facilitating related transactions.
Source: Jordan News Agency