jordan pulse -

Jordan News Agency (Petra) Tuesday hosted a dialogue session for the Minister of Government Communication, Faisal Shboul, and Minister of Planning, Zeina Toukan, on the government's political, economic and administrative reforms.

The session, attended by the heads and editors-in-chief of daily newspapers, is part of a series of national dialogue sessions the Ministry of Government Communication, in partnership with Petra, intends to hold to shed light on the reform steps that Jordan is undertaking.

Shboul spoke about the recent visit of the Iraqi Prime Minister, Muhammad Sudani, to Jordan and his meeting with His Majesty King Abdullah II, saying: "It represents an important message to the world that emphasises the depth of bilateral relations between the two countries and the tripartite ties that link his country with the Kingdom and Egypt."

Shboul added that the Ministry of Government Communication, through the Jordan News Agency, the Radio and Television Corporation and other national media, would lead a national dialogue to discuss all national issues related to the modernisation plans.

He added, "We are aware of the extent of the damage caused to the media during the COVID-19 pandemic, so the government approved several measures to support the media, including the decision to raise the price of government advertising."

He said, "We hope that the economic conditions of the media will improve, in line with the stage of economic recovery that Jordan is witnessing post-COVID-19, so that it can fully play its national role."

On political reform, he said that the government is working to the appropriate political environment for holding the first legislative elections on a "partisan basis" after completing the necessary constitutional and legislative amendments.

He added that administrative modernisation is in progress to restore the "brilliance" of the Jordanian administration to its former state.

On the performance of the economy, Shboul said the Jordanian economy remained "coherent and resilient thanks to the Jordanian state's prudent measures despite the global inflation rates."

On the electrical interconnection projects, Shboul explained that the electrical interconnection with the Palestinian Authority is a distinguished project, adding that work is underway to provide the technical equipment for the project.

Regarding the electrical connection with Iraq, he explained that the project is an "important and strategic" project for the two countries.

In turn, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, Zina Touqan, said that the role of His Majesty the King and his global tours contributed to improving Jordan's image economically, which led to preserving donor partners and obtaining development aid and loans at balanced and close levels over the past years.

Touqan added that the review of the fifth mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) coincided with the rating of the global credit rating agency "Moody's", as it raised the long-term sovereign credit rating of Jordan to positive stable and attributed the change in the future outlook for Jordan to "positive."

On the national carrier project, Toukan said funding for the project reached $2.2 billion to date, distributed over $500 million in grants and $500 million in development loans, adding that the value of investment loans amounted to $1.2 billion.

On Jordan's response plan to the Syrian refugee crisis, Toukan said that funding for the requirements of the response plan has so far reached $492 million, 21 per cent of the needed amount, noting that Jordan is calling on the international community to assume its responsibility and provide support for the refugees.
petra