Representatives from the Embassy of the Philippines in Amman participated in the 4th Jordan Afaq Economic Forum on 07 to 08 May 2012 at the Intercontinental Hotel in Amman. The forum (which focused on Jordan's “Institutional Reforms on Economic Policies”) was formally opened by Dr.Shabeeb Ammari, Minister of Industry and Trade of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
Embassy participants Ms. Princess Sharon Rose P. Sorilla(Attaché/Cultural Officer) and Ms. Marie Zelie G. Dalisay (Consular Assistant) attended the two-day forum which discussed the current economic situation of Jordan and the key institutional reforms Jordan is undertaking to further improve its current economic standing.
Speaker Dr. Ohan Balian, author of “The Secret of Dubai’s Long-Term Economic Success: Counter-Intuition” and former Economic Advisor of the Dubai Government, discussed the mechanisms for reforming the institutional framework to support the private sector, and for the development of institutional policies. He highlighted the successful experience of Dubai in its reform policies that led to its continuous economic success. He also discussed the criteria and indicators for measuring and monitoring the government’s performance in its economic policies.
On the other hand, Dr. Jawad Elanani, former Chief of the Royal Hashemite Court, discussed institutional reforms for the development of commercial and trade policies in Jordan, highlighting the importance of trade liberalization and competition and addressing monopolistic practices for the development of Jordan's economy. The need for Jordanian institutions to efficiently perform their role in providing a business-enabling environment was also stressed by Dr. Elanani as vital to the development of the Jordanian economy.
Institutional reforms for the development of the banking services in Jordan was discussed by Dr. Adli Qandh, CEO of the Association of Banks in Jordan. He highlighted the importance of developing financing programs for small and medium scale enterprises in Jordan.
The forum included the opening of the Trade and Market Expo of different trade companies in Jordan.