Competitiveness council holds first meeting

AMMAN — Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour on Saturday said the recently established National Competitiveness Council's (NCC) mandate will be comprehensive, seeking to improve Jordan's economy as a whole, and instilling the merits of creativity and innovation within its various sectors.

The premier's remarks came during the council's first meeting, during which he stressed the NCC's commitment to improve the competitiveness of all business sectors according to a comprehensive vision and to upgrade the Kingdom's ranking in international economy indexes, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Imad Fakhoury said that the council will serve as a platform for dialogue between the public and private sectors with the aim of increasing their competitiveness, building upon new laws seeking to enhance productivity and achieving the targeted growth rates, Petra said.

On May 24, the government announced the establishment of the NCC under the directives of His Majesty King Abdullah to be chaired by Ensour and with the membership of representatives of the private sector.

As put by the government, the NCC aims at enhancing the country’s business environment, launching more opportunities and streamlining regulatory procedures.

To implement the “Jordan 2025” economic blueprint, Fakhoury added that “economic clusters” have been formed to work as separate teams on a variety of sectors including construction, transportation and logistics, tourism, energy, healthcare, education, IT, financial services and agriculture.