Your Excellency, one of the challenges of the Jordanian economy has been to diversify this economy. Do you believe that Jordan has achieved its goal or is on the way to achieving that goal?
I think we have covered a lot of ground, but there is still a lot to be done. And an obvious example is His Majesty's effort to endorse information technology, and now we are doing a lot in that area. We have privatised the telecommunications sector, we are going to have a big conference at the end of March, and this example, we believe, will help the infrastructure and human resources. In terms of industry and services, we have covered a lot of ground, but I think there is still a lot that can be done.
Looking at it in a regional perspective; if I am Bill Gates of Microsoft, for example, why would I set up an office here, in Amman, instead of establishing it, for example, in Cairo, Dubai, or another country? What are the distinct advantages that you give to foreign companies looking to invest and settle in Amman?
Let us look at the region. I believe that Jordan is the only place to be the true gateway to business in the region. Politically, we are probably among a few countries who can talk to everybody in the region. Second, we are a very accessible country; you come here, and the next day you can meet any minister, you can meet the Prime Minister, you can meet His Majesty. Jordan is accessible, easy to reach, whether it is the decision makers or the business community. We have a very dynamic private sector who has always been outward looking. Of course, Jordan has always been small, and we have to be outward looking, export oriented. And, over the years, we have always been positively interacting with global events. And this is why we signed the EU Associate Agreement, why we have joined the WTO recently. I do not want to talk about political stability because that is a well known fact to everybody. Even with the tragic event, the demise of His Majesty King Hussein, and the handing of powers, nothing happened. People were apprehensive that Jordan might not be a civil place, but it was smooth, the institutions did their job, so our political stability, I think, is a basic fact.
The other thing is our human resources; we have more engineers than Singapore, we have graduates in computer sciences more than Northern Ireland, and it is a cheap labor resource. Also, we are well located, in the heart of this region, and we have bilateral relations, in terms of trade, free trade areas, with everybody, with the world at large; whether it is an Arab country in the area, the EU Association Agreement, the WTO, then we have the QIZ, with the Americans - we are the only country in the region who has these Qualified Industrial Zones, where all our export to the American markets are exempted from tax. So, I believe there is a lot of stake for investors to come to Jordan.
There is also the mentality in Jordan, the mentality of interacting with people. I think our legislation has world standards. We have modified, we have amended our laws, we have adopted new laws that are compatible with international standards. The IPR, for example, Intellectual Property Ratifications. Then, the important thing is that the Head of the State, His Majesty, is the driving force. His Majesty is following things up, and he has a time frame and a time schedule for things to be done.
One of things that the King has done right now is set up the Economic Consultative Council, bringing together the public and the private sector. Could you tell us a little bit about the Council and the projects it is working on, and its prospect for the future?
This is a collection of the elite of the private and the government sector, with the private sector as the dominating sector. Most of them are young people who have been educated in the United States and in the West, so they understand the global market. It is a forum for discussing major economic issues and putting an agenda for implementation of what we have agreed on. So the scope of work is really wide, it goes from the banking sector, through to the Aqaba free zone, to ports. We cover all issues. The water issues, training and education, everything is covered. And it gives the opportunity to the private sector to express freely their point of view and to give their input in what should be done on the part of the government. And the government is acting or interacting positively with these ideas. So, whenever we discuss an idea and agree on things to be done, a timetable will be put for implementation. There is no other way. There is a time frame. We agree that this should be done in two months, and we will do it in two months. Because His Majesty does not take a "No" for an answer.
After the Gulf War, Jordan lost one of its most, if not its most important trading partner. How is Jordan looking to diversify its exports in order to make up for that loss?
We are back now into the Gulf states in terms of exports. Our exports are going to their normal values from before the war. Of course, we have been hit by the sanctions against Iraq, but this is exactly why we signed the Arab Free Trade Area, where we can export to other Arab countries, and we signed the Europe Association Agreement. I believe there is a potential for our exports to Europe, and this gives us privileged treatment on the European market. We joined the WTO, we have the QIZ to export to the huge American market, and there is continuous and genuine effort to diversify our exports. If you look at our trade profile for 1999 you will find new countries which have never been on the list before: some African countries, some former Soviet Union countries, so there is a comprehensive program for enhancing our exports to new markets.
| You were also chief negotiator for the WTO accession. The country is going through a transition. Could you tell us a little bit about your role as chief negotiator, and how you expect to take Jordan through the transition? What will be the impact on Jordan and how will the country deal with it?
I have been the chief negotiator for almost three years, and it has not been an easy ride. But we have managed to get through, we have acceded and we have signed good bilateral agreements with the negotiating partners. WTO was very important to us, we have always thought that we should integrate into global economy at this stage, not at a later stage where commitments might be more strict, and we have to complete this circle of integration into the Global Economy Association Agreement, the Arab Free Trade Area and the WTO. Through this exercise, we have looked into our complete economic legislation, we have amended laws, we have created new laws, and I believe that now we have a very transparent and sound investment environment. Our laws are world class. So, this was a very beneficial exercise.
Our trading regime will improve tremendously through the simplification of procedures, the new laws and the training we are giving to the government employees. We will get rid of the previous quotas to some markets and the export undeer the GSP, the Generalized System of Preferences. We are a small market and people have not been very interested in small markets. On the other hand, we will have the world as a market for our exports. Of course, we are sure that this will bring the technology transfer, the know-how transfer and the investment transfer to Jordan. Because people will come and see that the legislation is working. So, I believe the trading system will improve tremendously, and some of our small and medium investors might be affected in the short run but I think it will put them in a position to improve and make their management, their production and their marketing effort efficient, and I believe this will bear fruit in the end.
One of the important things now is to attract investment. What are some of the things your Ministry is doing to attract foreign investment into Jordan?
We have an autonomous institution for investment promotion, IPC - the Investment Promotion Corporation - and there we have a program of targeting certain countries to attract investment. Next month we will go to the Far East, to Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong, and make a promotion campaign about investment in Jordan. At a later stage we will go to some European countries and to the United States. Part of the problem is that people do not know much about Jordan, they do not know much about the investment environment in Jordan, so we are trying to do this exercise to make these facts known to the people and explain the competitive edge we have in the different sectors. We also have a new program of creating promotion offices in some countries. These will be offices working on promotion of tourism and investment, and this program is partly funded by the USA.
The readers of "Forbes" magazine are always looking for new business opportunities. In your mind, what are the main sectors and the main business opportunities here, in Jordan?
I would say, information technology is one of the biggest sectors. We also have the mineral sector, tourism, development of tourism sites all over Jordan is still an opportunity. Jordan is like a museum, and some of the virgin land, where there are tourist attractions, still lack infrastructure. There are important opportunities in the services sector. Now some companies are coming and opening regional offices in Jordan. Then, in the industrial sector, for example, textile, because of the cheap labor force, and we have some joint ventures with Italy because of the skilled labor force here. I believe we can offer a good environment in terms of some industries like textile, like engineering industries and spare parts production.
You were a Head of the Chamber of Industry and now you are a Minister. Could you tell us a little bit about your background and also what you feel is your most personal satisfying achievement that you have had up to now?
I have worked in the private sector almost all my life, except the last two years. I come from the private sector, so I understand very well their problems and their agonies, and my target is to work closely with the private sector as a team, to implement the directives of His Majesty and to fulfill his ambitions of prosperity and economic growth. We have continuous dialog, and now we are forming a Consultative Committee with the private sector, especially to look into the WTO, its impact and potentialities. My target is to attract more investment to Jordan and to export more, because our exports have declined over the past year, and we will focus now on areas where Jordan can be a centre of excellence. Obviously, we cannot do very well in every sector; now we are identifying the best sectors where we can excel and be a model in the region.
What would be your final message to our readers?
Please, come and see Jordan. Look at the web site of Jordan. Jordan is a beautiful country, it offers a lot. Do not think that it is a small country where there is nothing; there is a lot in Jordan to be seen and to be done. |
Ministry of Industry and Trade