Constructive Dialogue at the Founding Meeting of the Economic Policy Support Forum

17 Jul 2011
Outcomes to be announced at the end of this year

There is an urgent need to know the facts of the financial and economic situation - HE Talal Abu-Ghazaleh

AMMAN--- July 17, 2011 ---Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Business Forum hosted on June 25, 2011 the founding meeting for Economic Policy Support Forum. The meeting witnessed wide participation of invited officials and experts representing state economic institutions, private sector entities, civil society organizations, research and studies centers, academia and media.

HE Dr. Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, chairman of the meeting, welcomed the participants and thanked them for their interest in the matter and for accepting his invitation to take part in this undertaking. He pointed out that the purpose of the meeting was to prepare analytical studies of the economic and social situation of the country, to be conducted in a positive spirit and with full transparency and broad participation.

HE Abu-Ghazaleh said that, given the urgent need to know the facts about the financial, economic and social conditions, the Forum's mission was to issue a study on the national economic situation and suggest possible solutions for overcoming the economic crisis. There was no time to wait, he stressed. HE Abu-Ghazaleh expressed his hope that the study would be concluded by the end of this year, so that another team, to be formed later, would be able to focus on developing fact-based recommendations of the Forum, supported by the necessary data, indicators and analyses of the economic situation, to be submitted to the decision makers.

Following the Chairman’s statement, the participants engaged in a rich discussion of possible modalities for organizing and speeding up the work of the Forum and its committees, including the themes of future meetings and work requirements of the committees.


The participants adopted the agenda and approved a proposal to amend the name of the Forum to become "Economic Policy Support Forum". Dr. Taher Kanaan was elected Chairman, Mr. Laith Al -Qasem the Coordinator-General, and Mr. Marwan Atta the Secretary of the Forum.


As regards the proposed committees, the following decisions were adopted by the meeting:
- Dr. Khalid Al-Wazny was elected Chairman of the Committee on the general state financial and monetary policies.
- Dr. Jawad Anani was elected Chairman of the Committee on productivity in the national economy.
- Engineer Samir Murad was elected Chairman of the Committee on major challenges.
- Ms. Reem Badran was elected Chairman of the Committee on Jordan’s accession to the GCC.
- Mr. Laith Al-Qasem was elected Chairman of the Coordination Committee with a team of youth from the Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Graduate School of Business (TAGSB) as Committee members.

The founders selected TAGSB to host the headquarters of the Forum and the committees. In this context, HE Abu-Ghazaleh stressed the readiness and willingness of the College’s administration to provide administrative and logistical support to facilitate the work of the committees in the best way possible.

Regarding a proposal to invite additional participants, it was agreed to leave this matter to the committees and their chairpersons, as they were free to seek assistance from any party outside their membership to take advantage of their expertise. Based upon a request from the attendees, the Chairman of the meeting requested committees' chairpersons to expand the membership to include additional regions and sectors.

The committees shall hold their meetings weekly and dates to be determined by the committees’ chairpersons, while the Forum's members shall convene on a monthly basis to discuss the results of studies and consultations conducted by the committees. Also, an interactive website presenting the procedures and objectives of the Forum shall be created to allow citizens to engage in constructive and effective participation, as each committee shall conduct open and regular meetings with the relevant constituencies to solicit responsible and positive factual inputs and suggestions that aim to serve the national economy.

In conclusion, HE Abu-Ghazaleh expressed his satisfaction with the outcomes reached at the meeting which reflected the participants’ sense of responsibility and constructive approach. He highlighted the fact that it was everyone’s shared noble goal to serve the economy of the motherland.