Jordanian economic expert Khaled Al Zubeidi stressed his refusal to the claims that the country suffers from shortage in its natural resources, saying that it has over 70-billion tons of oil shale with 10 percent of oil. He added that the country could have a huge amount of oil equaling the American discovered oil.
He added that the Jordanian government could fail to export the oil during the current period, while it can benefit from it in generating electricity, stressing the need for changing the current approach in dealing with the country’s resources.
He blamed the absence of serious will to improve the situation for the current economic crisis witnessed in the country, saying that the administrative expenses transcend a billion dinar in the framework of a 11-billion-dinar budget. He stressed the need for working to attract more investments during the coming period.
He added that the country enjoys the stability and security that are major factors to attract the foreign investors, while the government should provide the necessary guarantees to reassure the investors that they would achieve profits in the country. He stressed the need for amending the laws during the coming period to meet the international standards.
He added that the government has no way to resolve the increasing unemployment except to attract more investments in the future, calling the governmental institutions to perform their role to qualify the Jordanian youth for joining the labor market and to meet its requirements.
He added, “The political reform remains the cornerstone to achieve any economic development in the developing countries. There is no economic development without political diversity ensuring the democratic rule.”
He stressed the need for involving the young Jordanians in the political process through supporting them for joining the political parties, saying that they could present economic programs aiming to push forward the development in Jordan.