Upcoming Activities 2002:

1. Workshop: Export barriers to the American market: This workshop will be held on August 7th, 2002, Mr. Fawwaz Al-Sha'alan, former President of the Jordanian American Business Association (JABA) will present the main paper. This workshops aims to highlight the impediments that prevent Jordanian industrial products from reaching the US market, whether these impediments were subjective and related to a Jordanian structure or nature, or whether they were self impediments. The aim is to place strategies and mechanisms to overcome these impediments.

2. Workshop: The retirement system: reality and solutions: This workshop will be held on June, 2002, Dr. Muhammad Abu Hmour, Secretary General of the Ministry of Finance, will prepare the main work paper. This workshop aims to find solutions, especially since it was demonstrated that the current system was and will continue to be a further load on the public budget.

3. Workshop: The administration in small- and medium-size Jordanian companies: This workshop will be held on June 25, 2002, Mr. Muhammad Sai'd Hamami, Director General of the Jordanian Company for Securing Funds, will present the main paper. This workshop aims to discuss the common administrative trends in Jordanian companies, especially small- and medium-size ones, and their response to the developments witnessed by the world during the past few years in terms of modern administration and marketing, and the great abilities the information and communication revolution provided to develop the performance of these companies. Some of the successful experiments will be demonstrated, and Jordanian companies will be encouraged to develop their administrative and marketing trends and pushed to develop their skills.

4. Workshop: Entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs in Jordan: This workshop well be held on August 20, 2002, Dr. Ibrahim Badran, Vice President of Philadelphia University and former Secretary General at the Ministry of Agriculture, was assigned to present the main paper. Mr. Laith Al-Qassem, President of the Young Entrepreneur Association (YEA) was assigned to prepare a second paper on the Jordanian experience. This workshop aims to introduce entrepreneurship starting from the international and local experience, discussing the objective regulations to achieve it, whether these were economic, social or cultural regulations, measuring the extent of its ability to prosper in light of the local circumstances, introducing the factors that stimulate or deter it, and observing some of the local experiences and evaluating them.

5. Workshop: Types of support permitted the private sector in light of economic openness: This workshop aims to define the types of support, which the private sector may benefit from in light of the new agreements signed by Jordan. Keeping up with the demands of this sector through its committees has not exceeded the demand of direct support. Therefore, omitting customs taxes on production, knowing that there are types of professional and technical support allowed by agreements that no one benefited from.

6. Seminar: Which private sector do we want: The importance of this seminar is derived from the modern reality, which forces itself heavily on the Jordanian economy, that of markets opening to Jordanian products, the signing of agreements regulating free trade, the fast growing government intervention in the market and, more than ever, opening the way for economic growth and new horizons to invest in sectors formerly run by the government.

Activities 2002:

1. Workshop: Trends and challenges in information and telecommunications technology: This workshop was held on 3/7/2002, at the Radisson Sas hotel in Amman. The main working paper was presented by Professor Mohammad Odaidat, an international expert in information and communications technology. The workshop was headed by Dr. Adnan Badran, presedent of Philadelphia University.

2. Workshop: Ideal administration for investment companies: This workshop was held on May 7, 2002, at the Bristol Hotel, in Amman, The main working paper was presented by Mr. Jalil Tareef, the Executive Director of the Amman Stock Exchange, it was commented upon by Mr. Nai'm Khoury, a finance and accounting expert, Saba & Company. The session was lead by Dr. Yousef Mansour, economist for the European Union's Industrial Development Program (EJADA).

3. Workshop: The informal sector in the Jordanian economy: This workshop was held on May 21, 2002, The main working paper was presented by Dr. Khalil Elayyan from Amman Arab University, , it was commented upon by Dr. Hussein Shakhatreh , director- general of the General Statistics Department . The session was lead by Dr. Munther Masri, President of National Center for Human
Resources Development.

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Activities 2001:

1. The New Economy: Five Dimensions for the Term: The workshop was held at the Marmara Hotel on March 26, 2001. The workshop included a main working paper by Dr. Michael Erika, senior economic researcher at the International Politics Analysis Unit of the German Friedrich Ebert Organization. The paper was commented upon by Dr. Youssef Mansour, economist for the European Union's Industrial Development Program (EJADA), and Laith Al Qassem, general manager of the Jordanian Technology Group, in addition to the chairman of the session, Dr. Ziad Fariz, governor of the Central Bank and executive director of the Arab Banking Corporation - Jordan.

2. Competitiveness and Successful Experiments in Penetrating International Markets: This workshop was held at the Marmara Hotel on April 26, 2001. Nisreen Barakat, director of the Competitiveness Unit at the Ministry of Planning, read the main paper, which was commented upon by Dr. Youssef Mansour and Engineer Omar Abu Washah, deputy director of the Board of Directors of Petra Company for Architectural Industries. The session was lead by Dr. Bashir Zobi, then ministerial economic advisor.

3. Public Finances in Light of the Liberalization of Trade: A Future Outlook: This session was held on June 25, 2001, at the Marmara Hotel. The main paper was read by Dr. Mahmoud Abu Hmur, secretary general at the Ministry of Finance, and was commented upon by Al Haj Haidar Murad, head of the Jordanian Union of Chambers of Commerce, Dr. Muhammad Smadi, head of the Board of Directors of the Jordanian National Waterlines Company, and Muhammad Hatamleh, economic researcher at JFED.

4. Small Projects Funding: A National Duty: This workshop was held at the Marmara Hotel on Aug. 12, 2001. A number of working papers were presented, among which those of: Marzuq Al Hadid, general director of the Development and Employment Fund, Muhammad Said Hamami, general director of the Jordanian Company for Loan Guarantees, and Mazen Shaker, secretary general of Professionals at the Industrial Development Bank. The session was headed by Reem Badran, general director of the Jordan Investment Board.

5. What After the Economic Reform Program?: This debate session was held at the Marmara Hotel on Oct. 24, 2001. The main discussion was introduced by Dr. Muhammad Al Nabulsi, former governor of the Central Bank and director of the Board of Directors of the Trust and Investment Company. Muhammad Hatamleh, banker, presented a paper on applying economic reform on the Jordanian economy and the results accruing from it. The debates were lead by Dr. Muhammad Haitham Al Hourani, executive director, JFED.

6. Ideal Use of Privatization Revenues in Jordan: This workshop was held at the Marmara Hotel on Nov. 13, 2001. The main working paper was presented by Dr. Yusuf Mansur (EJADA), and commented upon by Dr. Montaser Oklah, assistant resident representative and programme director, UNDP. The workshop was headed by Dr. Ibrahim Badran, deputy director of Philadelphia University.

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