His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday, instructed the government to form an Economic Policies Council that will be mandated to discuss economic policies, programmes and development plans in various sectors, identify the main constraints holding back economic growth and propose solutions to overcome them.

In a letter to Prime Minister Hani Mulki, King Abdullah said the Council will be supporting the government’s efforts aimed at overcoming economic difficulties, investing in opportunities, achieving higher growth rates and enhancing the competitiveness of the national economy.

Following is the full text of the King’s letter:

In the Name of God, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful

Your Excellency Prime Minister Dr Hani Al-Mulki,
Peace, God’s mercy and blessings be upon you,

We convey to you and your colleagues our best wishes, trust and appreciation for your efforts to serve the country and its people.

It is our firm belief that citizens are at the core of the development process, and working to improve the lives of people remains our top priority. Since we assumed our constitutional responsibilities, we have given national affairs and economic conditions our utmost care.

It is essential to do our best to improve the performance of our national economy, ensure a decent life for our dear people and provide them with all means available to keep up with scientific and technological developments, which have become the defining characteristic of this era.

With the grace of God, we have succeeded over the past 16 years to expand the national economy, develop new sectors and strengthen our economy, which has persevered and grew despite the crises that have engulfed us in recent years. This was made possible through necessary economic and structural reforms we have carried out along vital development plans in various sectors over the past years.

We are fully convinced that the development of economies and creation of jobs hinge on the innovations, ideas and initiatives of the private sector and its contributions to development efforts. In this context, we should emphasise the importance of the key role of the private sector in Jordan, and the need to strengthen its partnership with the public sector in economic policy-making and empowering the private sector to fulfil its role in the economic and social development process.

Your Excellency,
We have emphasized in the Letter of Designation that the main priority and real challenge for our country is to address poverty and unemployment, especially as we face great economic challenges, some of which caused by difficult regional situations, namely the exacerbation of the economic and social consequences of the Syrian refugee crisis, which continue to place mounting pressure on our limited resources.

Despite various economic challenges, we firmly believe that we are capable of turning these challenges into opportunities. This requires all of us to invest in such opportunities to achieve the goals of the sustainable economic development we seek, so that they reflect positively on improving the living conditions of people in various governorates.

Your Excellency,
As we appreciate the government’s submission of its Executive Programme aimed to fulfil the various aspects of our directives in the Letter of Designation, and as we are aware of the need to translate policies into actions, provide sustainable development solutions, enhance the investment environment to stimulate growth and pursue a participatory approach in the implementation of government programmes in partnership with the private sector, we have decided to form an Economic Policies Council.

The Council is mandated to discuss economic policies, programmes and development plans in various sectors, identify the main constraints holding back economic growth and propose solutions to overcome them. The Council will be supporting the government’s efforts aimed at overcoming economic difficulties, investing in opportunities, achieving higher growth rates and enhancing the competitiveness of the national economy.

Accordingly, we have decided that the Council will be under our supervision and to comprise the following:

• The Prime Minister
• Governor of the Central Bank of Jordan
• President of the Social Security Investment Fund
• President of the Financial and Economic Committee at the Senate
• President of the Economic and Investment Committee at the House of Deputies
• President of the Jordan Chamber of Industry
• President of the Jordan Chamber of Commerce
• Dr. Salaheddine Mohammad Al-Bashir
• Mr. Munir Yousef Nassar
• Mr. Mazen Samih Darwazeh
• Mr. Yazid Adnan Al-Mufti
• Dr. Ayman Eid Mazahreh
• Eng. Firas Omar Abu Wishah
• Mr. Shahem Munib Al-Werr
• Director of the Department of Economic and Social Development at the Royal Hashemite Court (Rapporteur)

We have also decided that concerned ministers as well as experts whose opinions and suggestions are of importance are to attend the meetings of the Council, which has also to form specialised working groups to support its work.

We look forward to seeing serious work done by this Council, in a way that serves the economic sustainable development goals we are striving to achieve, ensure a dignified life for our giving citizens and keep our beloved country resilient and stronger.

Wishing Your Excellency and your colleagues, the ministers, success.

Peace, God’s mercy and blessings be upon you

Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein

Amman on 21 Ramadan 1437 Hijri
26 June 2016 AD.