Jordan to launch 5G mobile infrastructure services: PM

Jordan's Prime Minister Bisher Al-Khasawneh said on Sunday his government would work with telecom operators to launch 5G mobile infrastructure services in the country.

He made the remarks during a press conference when he revealed government procedures and strategies to advance customs reforms, develop the telecommunications industry, and improve employment, the state-run Petra news agency reported.

Bisher Al-Khasawneh said 5G networks are an economic facilitator and an investment-attractive framework. He also pointed out that the technology will have a favorable impact on education, health, banking, agriculture, media, transportation, and entertainment.

In terms of Jordan's economy, the prime minister said the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) had implemented a series of procedures to mitigate the economic impact and repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the cost of these procedures totaling 2.7 billion Jordanian dinars (3.8 billion U.S. dollars), or 8.6 percent of the kingdom's GDP.

CBJ programs benefited 6,000 firms and projects, resulting in the protection of 140,000 jobs, according to him.

He also said that the government had introduced a program to empower the private sector and solve unemployment. The government has set aside 80 million dinars from its budget for 2022 to encourage the private sector to create 60,000 jobs for Jordanians, according to him.

The prime minister also talked about the re-structuring of customs fees in order to boost the kingdom's economic competitiveness, a new tax on the usage of energy and the kingdom's strategic commodity reserves.