Deputising for His Majesty, digital economy minister inaugurates 10th MENA ICT Forum

AMMAN — Deputising for His Majesty King Abdullah, Minister of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship Sami Smeirat on Wednesday inaugurated the 10th Middle East and North Africa ICT Forum at the Dead Sea.

Organised by the Information and Communications Technology Association (Int@j), in cooperation with the ministries of digital economy and entrepreneurship and investment, the two-day forum underscores Jordan’s commitment to advancing the ICT sector as a cornerstone of economic growth and innovation.

Smeirat highlighted His Majesty’s early recognition of ICT’s transformative potential, aiming to position Jordan as a regional technology hub, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.  

Jordan’s ICT sector achievements include a rise of 11 ranks to 89th in the 2024 UN E-Government Development Index and an advancement of 26 ranks to 60th in the 2023 ICT Development Index, the minister said. 

He added that the Kingdom improved by seven ranks to 71st in the 2023 Global Innovation Index and climbed 44 ranks to 27th in the Global Cybersecurity Index, noting that early-stage entrepreneurial activity surged from 9.1 per cent in 2020 to 15.7 per cent in 2024, elevating Jordan’s global rank from 34th to 15th.

Smeirat said that the government has implemented forward-looking strategies, including the National Digital Transformation Strategy (2021-2025) and the Jordanian AI Strategy (2023-2027). 

He added that as part of these efforts, 60 per cent of government services are now digitalised, with plans to achieve full digitalisation by 2025, pointing out that programmes such as the Sanad application and the National Fiber Network have streamlined access to public services and improved connectivity across the Kingdom.

The sector’s growth is guided by the Economic Modernisation Vision, targeting a revenue increase from $0.9 billion in 2021 to $3.9 billion by 2033 and employment growth from 24,700 to 101,000 jobs.