Jordan’s King ‘Abd Allah has requested that the government of Prime Minister ‘Abd Allah al-Nusur draw up a 10-year blueprint for economic development.

In a letter to Mr Nusur, the king says that the Jordanian economy faces a number of difficult challenges, resulting from international and regional crises such as the suspension of Egyptian gas supplies to Jordan and the influx of 1.3mn Syrian refugees to the kingdom. This has depleted Jordan’s limited resources and piled enormous pressure on its infrastructure and national economy. It has also led to an increase in the deficit and debt over the past few years, the king says. (CONTINUED - 698 WORDS)