AMMAN, 26 May 2004 — Jordanian Finance Minister Mohammad Abu Hammour announced Sunday that his country would be “graduating” from the economic rectification program next month when his government embarks on its own plan of economic reforms. The International Monetary Fund supervised program has run for the last 15 years. “As of June 2, Jordan will be graduating from the IMF’s economic correction program and will start implementing a national economic development plan,” said Abu Hammour.
“The role of the IMF will only be of an adviser to the government which can accept or refuse its advice,” he added.
IMF’s Middle East and Central Asia Adviser, Ihsan Mansur, who led an IMF team for evaluating the performance of the Jordanian economy in the first quarter of the year, pointed out that Jordan could now rely on its own capabilities to achieve further growth and development. “The Jordanian economy has achieved maturity and strength, but we will provide technical assistance and post-program monitoring that will give us an opportunity to conduct consultations with the government,” he said. Abu Hammour expected Jordan to realize net growth of 5.5 percent this year and 6 percent next year despite the situations in Iraq and the Palestinian territories.