Country Profile
From The Report: Jordan 2014
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The past several years have seen significant changes in Jordan, with the population reaching 6.64m in 2014, swelled in part by refugees from neighbouring Syria and Iraq. Jordan, however, remains stable as it moves ahead with home grown and sustainable political reforms that look to establish lasting building blocks for democracy. In September 2014 King Abdullah II of Jordan re-iterated his commitment to “a gradual deepening of parliamentary government” under the umbrella of a constitutional monarchy. Jordan continues to enjoy strong ties with the GCC countries, the US and the EU. Eight free trade agreements gives it access to over 350m customers in the region and more than 1bn customers worldwide.

This chapter contains a viewpoint from Abdullah Ensour, Prime Minister of Jordan and an interview with Crispin Blunt, MP and Chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Jordan Group.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

The kingdom is a crossroads of geography, culture and history
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The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan covers a total area of 89,342 sq km and shares 1635 km of land borders with the neighbouring states of Iraq, Israel, Palestine, Saudi Arabia and Syria, as well as 26 km of coastline on the Gulf of Aqaba in the south. Topographically, the country is divided into three main areas: the Jordan Valley (part of the Great Rift Valley), which runs from north to south in the western part of the kingdom and is known south of the Dead Sea as Wadi Araba; the highlands region…

Overview

The political reform process continues
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Despite a challenging regional environment, Jordan continues to move ahead with the reform process it began over a decade ago. The process has focused on building consensus for reforms that are home-grown and sustainable, the results of which are starting to materialise. Jordan’s gradual and evolutionary approach aims to put in place an efficient system of checks and balances alongside other building blocks of parliamentary democracy, as well as expand citizens’ participation in the process of…

Viewpoint

Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour on partnership with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
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Our continued strategic operations with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) come at a crucial time for Jordan, especially when set against the backdrop of ongoing regional transformations. In some countries, such as Jordan, these transformations have helped to bring about a number of positive changes associated with the shift toward democratic rule and citizens’ participation in setting their own political, economic and social priorities. In other countries, however, these…

Analysis

Development is being stepped up in a key port city
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The last year was a good one for the Jordanian construction sector, which registered an 8.3% expansion in 2013 compared to the previous year’s relatively static performance. Much of this improved showing can be attributed to increased state spending on large infrastructure projects and sizeable tranches of foreign investment, both of which have provided a fillip to overall GDP. Yet the most interesting aspect of Jordan’s construction data for 2013 is that it shows that the centre of building…

Interview

OBG talks to Crispin Blunt, MP and Chairman, All-Party Parliamentary Jordan Group
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Interivew:Crispin Blunt To what extent are you concerned by the seeming movement toward greater sectarianism within the region, in particular the rise of the Islamic State in Iraq and Al Sham (ISIS)? CRISPIN BLUNT: Too many regional players have used sectarianism for political purposes, including Bashar Al Assad in Syria and Nouri Al Maliki in Iraq. ISIS is the most extreme display of this trend to win over discontented Sunni Arabs, exploiting their grievances. It bears some resemblance to…