Jordan offers, in reason of its geographical position, an undeniable interest. It is surrounded by Syria, which is opening up gradually, Egypt whose domestic market offers interesting outlets, Israel, Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

During the past few years, it has modernized its legislative arsenal thus opening the way to privatisation, modernized its sectors and signed many agreements whether on the international economic organizations level as WTO (Jordan is officially a member since April 11, 2000) or on the main economic blocks level as the European Union (the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement has been signed on November 24, 2000 and came into force in December 2001).

France plays a privileged role. It took an active part in the process of privatization and it invested in key sectors like telecommunications, cement, and water. In addition, a part of the debt is reinvested in the Jordanian economy.

Several free-trade areas were created in order to promote manufactured products and thus to grant facilities to companies eager to set up in the Kingdom or to transit their goods more cheaply.

In the first place, the QIZs (Qualifying Industrial Zones) were launched in 1997. It was a question of opening up the US market to Jordanian products with exemption from customs duties and without quotas. The success of these zones exceeded all expectations: there are some 540 million USD of investments, and nearly 45 800 jobs were created.

Jordan also has many assets like quality infrastructure, skilled labour, and advantageous setting up costs.

A new country and resulting from historical turbulence, Jordan has, since the beginning of the second Intifada (September 2000), experienced a slowdown in economic activity particularly due to the disaffection of European and American tourists and the fall-off in domestic demand. This reduction in the tourist traffic is also fed by the world economic slowdown.

The second Iraqi war proved that the Jordanian economy, far from sinking, partly overcame this crisis. International help has materialized: 700 million USD of US economic help, free oil during three months coming from the Arab countries, that is to say approximately 170 million USD, and finally Japanese and European aid of respectively 100 million USD and 35 million EUR. In addition, through economic measures (decrease in interests, increase in certain taxes, reduction of the real-estate grants to civil servants etc.) it reduced the problems caused by the conflict, thus showing its flexibility and its capacity to adapt to external events.

The most recent cabinet reshuffle shows the King's willingness to accelerate the Kingdom’s modernization particularly by reducing the influence of pressure groups on the administration’s functioning, and by continuing the austerity policy, while taking as a target the improvement of the living conditions of Jordanians that deteriorated following the regional and world economic situation.