Amman (UNA-OIC) – An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team, led by S. Ali Abbas, has concluded virtual discussions with the Jordanian authorities and reached a Staff-Level Agreement on the second review of the Kingdom’s economic reform program supported by the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement.
This agreement is subject to the approval of the IMF’s Executive Board, according to Jordan News Agency (Petra).
In a statement released Wednesday, Abbas said the COVID-19 pandemic continues to pose significant challenges for Jordan. He indicated that output contraction in 2020 is estimated to have been limited at 2 percent, including due to the authorities’ timely and effective fiscal and monetary support.
However, he added, successive COVID waves since October have sharply hit businesses and households, with unemployment rising to a record high of 24.7 percent in Q4 2020.
According to the IMF official, 2021 is expected to see a recovery of 2 percent, with nominal GDP expected to expand by 3.6 percent. He explained that this projection incorporates the likely implications of a slower-than-anticipated rollout of the vaccination globally and the attendant delay in the return of tourism to pre-pandemic levels, as well as stronger external demand conditions, and continued domestic policy support.
Abbas stressed that the immediate policy priority is to deal with the ongoing serious pandemic wave and mitigate its human and economic impact. To this end, he pointed out, fiscal targets for 2021 aim to accommodate higher social spending, including on job retention in affected sectors and youth programs; and a credit support scheme targeted at small and medium enterprises (SMEs) – which account for the bulk of employment – has been expanded.
https://petra.gov.jo/Include/InnerPage.jsp?ID=33520&lang=en&name=en_news
This agreement is subject to the approval of the IMF’s Executive Board, according to Jordan News Agency (Petra).
In a statement released Wednesday, Abbas said the COVID-19 pandemic continues to pose significant challenges for Jordan. He indicated that output contraction in 2020 is estimated to have been limited at 2 percent, including due to the authorities’ timely and effective fiscal and monetary support.
However, he added, successive COVID waves since October have sharply hit businesses and households, with unemployment rising to a record high of 24.7 percent in Q4 2020.
According to the IMF official, 2021 is expected to see a recovery of 2 percent, with nominal GDP expected to expand by 3.6 percent. He explained that this projection incorporates the likely implications of a slower-than-anticipated rollout of the vaccination globally and the attendant delay in the return of tourism to pre-pandemic levels, as well as stronger external demand conditions, and continued domestic policy support.
Abbas stressed that the immediate policy priority is to deal with the ongoing serious pandemic wave and mitigate its human and economic impact. To this end, he pointed out, fiscal targets for 2021 aim to accommodate higher social spending, including on job retention in affected sectors and youth programs; and a credit support scheme targeted at small and medium enterprises (SMEs) – which account for the bulk of employment – has been expanded.
https://petra.gov.jo/Include/InnerPage.jsp?ID=33520&lang=en&name=en_news
