Fakoury outlines Jordan’s voluntary national review

Planning and International Cooperation Minister Imad Fakhoury, Chairman of the Higher National Committee for Sustainable Development presented Jordan’s National Voluntary Review Report on the Sustainable Development Agenda 2030 at the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development at the UN in New York.

Fakhoury said that Jordan is on the right path in implementing the sustainable development agenda 2030, representing a partner in a lasting peace, as it remains an oasis of security and stability in this troubled region.

The minister said that Jordan is unable to achieve comprehensive and sustainable economic, social and environmental development on its own, given the enormous pressure it is facing on its infrastructure and services due to conflicts in the region and the influx of large numbers of refugees, which poses a real challenge to achieving sustainable development goals by 2030.

Therefore, the provision of continuous and medium-term financial and technical support to Jordan is more important than ever before to protect the development gains that have been made with great effort from all national actors and to ensure Jordan’s prosperity and resilience in the face of an unpredictable future, the minister added.

Jordan is working on tapping into and leveraging traditional and non-traditional sources of finances including: ODA, public and private, PPPs, Islamic financing, as well as sub-national, national and global finance to support long-term investments needed for the new sustainable development agenda, said Fakhoury.

The Planning and International Cooperation Minister stressed that the process of developing and enhancing the central role of Jordan resilience achieved through a strong commitment to dialogue and reform, based on a comprehensive and advanced process, based on effective citizenship, empowering Jordanian citizens, creating new opportunities and raising the standard of living for them.

What distinguishes Jordan are the values of moderation, tolerance, openness and respect, helping others and focusing on a brighter future for all, said the minister.

He noted that the adoption of the Agenda for Sustainable Development 2030 came at a crucial moment in the history of the world, where the region faces a number of challenges, namely unprecedented instability and waves of refugees and displaced persons, which requires concerted efforts at the global level to overcome these challenges and achieve security and peace for all. There is no development without security and peace.

He said that Jordan is moving forward on the path of political reform, where it has been working on the development of its electoral laws and policy. The Kingdom is currently preparing to hold municipal and decentralized elections for the first time in Jordan and to elect governorate councils as part of the decentralization process. Jordan has also adopted the Integrity, Ombudsman and Anti-Corruption Charter as part of its efforts to promote transparency and good governance and to combat corruption. In return, Jordan continues to implement comprehensive judicial reforms on the basis of the recommendations of the committee to develop the judiciary and enhance the rule of law.

The Minister of Planning and International Cooperation stated that Jordan is determined to move forward in achieving the well-being and decent living of its citizens .as the 2030 agenda is one of our top priorities, Jordan has taken concrete steps to implement it in line with national policies and plans.

He said that Jordan has set a road map that consists of 11 main points:

To increase awareness towards the sustainable development agenda, its objectives, , indicators and means of implementation, with ensuring national ownership of it.

Comparing objectives, targets and indicators to national planning frameworks, including comparing the objectives and indicators of sustainable development with the national priorities contained in Jordan 2025, sector national strategies and the Executive Development Program. This comparison will identify convergence, coherence and gaps between sustainable development goals and national priorities.
Integration into national plans based on the above comparison, the objectives of sustainable development will be integrated, and commensurate with the situation of Jordan, into national development plans and planning frameworks and ensure their implementation as a priority.
Integration at the local levels, starting from two governorates on a pilot basis, and gradually moving them to all governorates
Enhancement of national statistical systems and data availability through the classification of indicators of sustainable development objectives to category I, category II, IIITier I, II, III, and providing technical and financial support to the Department of Statistics (DoS) to provide disaggregated data and improve data availability and quality.
Integrating gender by comparing the agenda and objectives of sustainable development (especially Goal 5) and related goals with national development priorities in the Executive Development Program and national strategies to ensure that gender is taken into account in current and future programs.
Enhancing institutional mechanisms through building and developing the existing frameworks and structures for coordination and development planning in Jordan from committees and task forces.
Calculating the achievements of sustainable development objectives by providing a standard econometric model to calculate the costs of achieving sustainable development goals.
Financing through internal and external resources. In this context, the Planning Ministry, in coordination with the Ministry of Finance and the Public Budget Department, has linked capital expenditure to operational development programs, thereby ensuring that sustainable development objectives have priority funding as part of operational development programs. In addition to linking foreign aid from grants and soft loans to development priorities in programs.
To enhance monitoring and evaluation systems, The Planning Ministry, in cooperation with the Prime Ministry’s Monitoring Unit, is developing a national monitoring system, which will be used to monitor national programs and plans, including operational development programs and indicators of sustainable development objectives within the program.
Develop national capacities and provide technical support in all areas related to the implementation of the sustainable development agenda 2030, including comparison and integration at the national and local levels, monitoring and evaluation

In light of Jordan’s hosting of refugees on behalf of the international community, support must be expanded.

He called upon the donor countries to fulfilling the commitments stipulated in the Jordan Compact adopted at the London Conference in 2016 and the Jordan Output Document adopted in Brussels in 2017 to fund the Jordan Response Plan (JRP).

For her part, MP Wafaa Bani Mustafa said that the parliament plays a key role in achieving the goals of sustainable development through adopting a legislative plan to develop the legal and legislative environment in partnership with the government.

The Chairperson of the Civil Coalition for Sustainable Development Asma Khadr stressed that civil society is a key partner in all development efforts. It contributes to the identification of priorities, monitors, monitors awareness, builds capacities and contributes to all national efforts.

Salma Nims, secretary general of the National Committee for Women Affairs, stressed that the next phase requires coordination of efforts to integrate the fifth goal into the other goals related to national plans and strategies.

Source: Fana News