Jordan expects the increase in foreign investments

The executive director of the commission in charge of encouraging Jordanian investment Reem Badran said on Thursday that holding the Palestinian elections in democratic atmospheres will help in creating positive atmosphere in Jordan, expecting the increase of foreign investment in the kingdom by more that 50% for 2005.

Badran said on the sideline of a conference on investment between Non European states which overlook the Mediterranean and the European Union that the experience of the Palestinians in the process of elections and democracy is a strong indicator on a progress towards stability. She indicated that the elections and other indicators like women's rights and social development are but grounds on which stability is built.

She indicated that year 2004 was the best but the year 2005 is expected to be better, but she gave no definite number for investments about 2004.

Badran said that Jordan, as other developing countries, lacks certain ability to estimate direct foreign investment but has already started cooperation with specialized international organizations in order to carry out surveys based on international criterion in this regard. Results of the survey are expected to be published in June.

However, recent economic reports explained that it is expected to increase economic growth rate in Jordan slightly to 5.5% in 2005 from 5.1% of 2004. N.