Jordan is facing an economic crisis that began forming over 20 years ago, since Abdullah II was crowned king of Jordan.
The most important factors that led to this crisis are mismanagement, rampant corruption, and lack of control and accountability. Jordan’s foreign debt is currently close to $50 billion, and the unemployment rate is over 20% — a record in the country.
Jordan faced a crisis similar in the days of late King Hussein bin Talal. This crisis ended with the signing of the Israeli-Jordanian peace treaty, which led then U.S. President Bill Clinton to erase part of Jordan’s foreign debt to America and increase U.S. assistance to Jordan, forming a strategic Jordanian alliance with America.
Now Jordan again needs to address its problems, which have come to the fore as many Jordanian voices have begun to raise demands for change and holding the corrupt accountable.
There are several steps that Jordan must implement if it is to recover from its crisis, return to a debt free situation, and not repeat the same crisis again a few decades from now.
First, Jordan needs to follow the example of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who cracked down on corrupt officials in Saudi Arabia. This can only be done in coordination with the Jordanian General Intelligence Department. Jordan also needs to re-establish the Anti-Corruption Commission for effective monitoring in coordination with the Intelligence Department.
Secondly, Jordan must appoint the right person with the right qualifications to the position of prime minister, in order to eventually establish a constitutional monarchy in Jordan. This will implement a full democracy in Jordan, in which the Jordanian citizens elect their prime minister. At the same time, Jordan must ban the Muslim Brotherhood in order to ensure that Jordan will remain peaceful.
Thirdly, the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation must be restructured, because a large part of Jordan’s economic crisis has been due to poor planning in the country. Likewise, appropriate appointments must be made in putting the right person in the right job to manage administrative matters in all ministries and agencies.
Fourthly, let us recall an important point mentioned above — when Jordan signed its peace treaty with Israel in 1994, Clinton deleted part of Jordan’s foreign debt to the U.S. What Jordan needs now is to intervene to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — the main conflict in the Middle East — in coordination with the Palestinian Authority.
Jordan should become a homeland for all the Arabs, both Jordanians and Palestinians, in this way ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by creating a home for the Palestinians. Jordan is Palestine and Palestine is Jordan — this is what the late King Hussein bin Talal said.
In return, there must be a guarantee of American and Israeli mediation that should result in the complete elimination of Jordan’s foreign debt. This is part of the price the international community will pay Jordan for solving one of the oldest conflicts in the world. The international community also must increase international aid and financial support from the Arab Gulf states for Jordan, in order to make sure Jordan will not collapse. In order to ensure the security of the Middle East in the future, we also must ensure the survival of the Hashemites on the throne of Jordan, who have played a role in establishing regional and international peace.
All of these steps must be taken in order to get Jordan out of its stifling and deadly crisis on the one hand, and guarantee that it will not return to a new suffocating economic crisis in the future on the other. This will also solve one of the oldest and most complicated conflicts in the world, and will mark Jordan as one of the countries that has contributed the most to world peace. If he did all this, the king of Jordan should be given the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts.
Eur says
Jordan is doomed.Today 20% of the population is adept at Salafism. It is a matter of time that Jordan bursts from within.
David says
A worthy suggestion…it’s certainly worth the attempt. However I wonder if long-ingrained Arab culture militates against it? It would certainly be a good to find out.
If a true peace is established in the Middle East, it could become one of the most successful social and economic regions in the world…but I wonder if the last century or two of history has destroyed the possibility. I wonder if the extremism and hatred that saturates Islamic belief and custom could possibly allow it to take hold…
A. Nonymous says
But, to borrow Abba Eban’s phrase, the odds are that they won’t miss the opportunity to miss this opportunity.
Rarely says
Peace is, and always was, available if and when the Arabs wanted it without the destruction of Israel. Until they do no plan will work.
jake says
Jordan cannot go back on the corruption because it is not a real country and its officials have to put money aside in Swiss Bank Accounts. They cannot trust the country not to turn on them, no matter what they do. The money will continuously be stolen. And Jordan will live on international welfare. The west will pour money into it uselessly as they use ISIS or similar as a threat of taking over if they dont get money. They are hopeless.
SemiDave says
The first and most important thing that needs to be done in all these countries…is for the US to remove its CIA cells from these countries. They don’t represent the attitude of American people but they do represent the American Military Industrial Complex which has an interest in keeping the Middle East unstable.
Mario Alexis Portella says
+1 Very well said. Right in line with this https://thegreatarchitect.blog/2019/05/31/887/
gravenimage says
Mario Alexis Portella has claimed before that Jihad is actually caused by Americans, Try again…
Infidel says
There is absolutely no reason that either Israel or the US should waive Jordan’s foreign debts. That would only mean that corrupt officials w/ money parked in Swiss accounts will walk free.
As jake said above, Jordan is not a real country, and unlike its neighbors, it has nothing, particularly no oil! Its only raison de etre is to give the Hashemites something since they lost Mecca. Yeah, they could try restructuring, forming a good government and having a corruption free society and see how much business they can attract from their rich neighbors, but it’s hard to see why non Arab, non Muslims should be interested in that country.
Also, the elephant in the room – Islam! Jordan is what Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Emirates and Qatar would have been had they had no oil!
Paddy O'Connor says
Waste of ,time,money,etc.Unless they abandon Mohammedanism they will always revert to Mohammed’s criminal ways.
R Russell says
Of course, the history seems to be ignored. At the time the State of Israel came into being, there was a huge tract of land given to the Arabs – Transjordan. Now known as Jordan. The Jews were expelled from other ME countries with only the clothes on their backs – all wealth confiscated. Why don’t we hear about that?
But have a look at what is happening. The Bible tells us that when Israel is absent from the land YHWH God ordained for them, it will turn into a desert. The productivity of Israel is astonishing. Look at the surrounding countries for a comparison.
The conflict will not be solved until the intervention of YHWH God who will do so when it looks like Israel will be defeated.
That will be after Russia attacks the gas and oil installations to take them over for itself.
SKA says
I am now reading Robert’s “Palestinian Delusion.” Given the implacable hatred towards Israel and the Jews rooted in the fundamental teachings of Islam any of the measures the author suggests would not erase the fundamental hostility towards Israel. Abdullah must not sleep easily when he recalls the fate of Qaddafi at the hands of Salafist rebels.
cornelius says
>First, Jordan needs to follow the example of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who cracked down on corrupt officials in Saudi Arabia.
Erm….this was a shake-down masquerading as an anti-corruption drive. Once I read that sentence, I knew the author had nothing to teach us.
gravenimage says
I agree, Cornelius. Most of this was just MbS consolidating his power.
jca reid says
The entire Arab world is doomed because of Islam & their corruption – only following Mohammed’s way of doing things. As for giving a ‘homeland’ of Jordanian territory to the Palestinians it won’t happen. Back in the 1970’s King Hussein of Jordan turned his Army on the Palestinians to kick them out for all the bother they were causing. Strange, thought Muslims would never attack other Muslims. The ONLY country that took them in was…. Lebanon. some neighbouring 22Arab countries, including across N. Africa, turned their backs on them. The Palestinians once embedded in Lebanon proceeded to destroy the country & turn it into a mono-culture of Islam. Also strange that the non-Muslim Lebanese fled to other countries seeking Political Asylum. After a few decades of living in their new adopted countries they are being murdered by Muslims seeking “Political Asylum” who turn up. The motive is, “They’re not Muslim.” Sweden & Canada being prevalent for this. A Major invasion of the ME with a lot of killing – the Imams & Political Leaders can ALL go, Nuremburg style – then give the entire area to Israel to rule. After all, historically, prior to 650AD or somewhere around there, the Arabs of the region were not Muslim. That’s the root of the vast bulk of the problem/s out there.
OREN WYSOCKI says
The lack of logic, morality and weakness towards lies, accusations, negativity and easy offense are all permanent characteristics of arab muslims. How can Israel really cultivate A transformative relationship with the arab muslim world when every single dispute between A single arab muslim, and A single Jewish civilian, police officer or IDF soldier, all immediately wipe out all progress made and compel arab muslims to the side of the muslim, and against the side of the Jew? By not living together.
You seem to be forgetting that the left in europe and elsewhere want to destroy Israel, because Jewish separatism represents A threat to tyranny everywhere. Jews can’t allow themselves to assimilate, it is deadly quick for them, and they cannot allow themselves to be ruled by international opinion, outside the confines of leftist we are all equal lies. Without those lies, the world will demand the Jewish people and nation make moves that will lead to the Jewish peoples extermination. So, the left knows that Jewish nationalism, morality, faith in G-d is their dictatorships mortal enemy, and the Jewish leadership knows that tyranny is the mortal enemy of the Jewish nation of Israel. In G-d I trust.
gravenimage says
How Jordan Could Solve the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict — and Its Own Problems
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Most Muslims in the region would rather just hate Jews.