Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, Suhair Al-Ali, chaired today a meeting of the steering committee for the “Support to Regulatory Reforms and Privatization SRRP” program, which is financed through a European grant in the amount of 20-million euro over a period of seven years 2002-2009.

The meeting was attended by members of the steering committee including Their Excellencies Dr. Mohammad Abu Hammour; Chairman of the Executive Privatization Commission, Dr. Hisham Al-Khatib; Chairman of the Electricity Regulatory Commission Board of Commissioners, Dr. Ahmad Hiasat CEO and Chairman of the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission Board of Commissioners; Eng. Amer Hadidi, Secretary General of the Ministry of Transport, and Suleiman Obeidat, Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority, along with representatives from the EC Delegation in Amman.

During the course of the meeting, discussions and presentations revolved around the progress made on technical assistance projects extended under the above-mentioned programme in the infrastructure sectors, particularly electricity, telecommunications, civil aviation, and transport, in addition to progress made in the Privatization Commission.

Minister Suhair Al-Ali stated that this EU supported Program has significantly contributed towards assisting the commissions in building their technical and administrative capacity through executing various training programs. Al-Ali also stated that the program assisted in drafting and developing the necessary legislations for these commissions.

Al-Ali added that the various regulatory commissions are independent from the Government and are charged with regulating their respective sectors in line with their rules and regulations, which guarantee their autonomy and effectiveness, and which have been developed in accordance with international best practices. Moreover, Minister Al-Ali highlighted the program’s role in assisting Jordan in developing a draft framework for public-private partnership in the Kingdom.

In addition, proposals related to the needs of the regulatory commissions were presented, including a proposal to launch a masters degree program in regulation for the regulatory commissions at Jordanian universities. Such a masters degree program aims at enhancing knowledge and capacity in this field as well as providing these commissions with qualified personnel through developing a specialized academic program.

The regulatory commission representatives also outlined the positive impact contributed by the technical assistance projects within the context of the “Support to Regulatory Reforms and Privatization” Program, particularly in enhancing capacity building, developing the legislative framework, as well as increasing private sector participation in infrastructure with the aim of increasing the commissions’ service delivery and competitiveness.

On their part, the European Commission representatives praised the performance and developments achieved by the various regulatory commissions within the last years, as well as the positive impact contributed by the program in assisting these commissions in moving forward with their set mandates and responsibilities.