Amman: The Parliamentary Finance Committee on Sunday approved the draft public budget law for the 2026 fiscal year, following the conclusion of its discussions, which spanned 104 meetings from November 25 to December 7. The discussions saw the participation of all ministries, departments, and government units covered by the budget.
According to Jordan News Agency, Committee chair MP Mimer Sleihat stated that the committee conducted an in-depth technical review that analyzed budget items, assessed the impact of public spending, and evaluated key economic indicators. The committee examined the effects of 230 government decisions on economic and social conditions and reviewed allocations for social safety nets.
During a press conference, Sleihat outlined the committee's key recommendations, which included reassessing the sales tax to account for its impact on people's incomes and increasing reliance on low-interest external financing. The committee also recommended raising salaries of military and civil sector employees and retirees in line with cumulative inflation, tightening controls on the disbursement of the JD 60 million emergency allocations to ensure they are used only for essential needs, and obligating banks to reverse interest rate reductions as quickly as they reinstate increases.
The committee also called for diversifying tourism programs in less-visited areas by linking them to overnight stays and low-cost flights, expanding cultural tourism for Arab visitors, developing tourist sites gradually, and launching public-private partnership projects. Recommendations further included training and qualifying teachers in BTec programs and expanding their application, directing universities toward technical and future-oriented specializations, expanding vocational training to international standards, especially for the German labor market, and supporting entrepreneurship and innovation in technology and artificial intelligence.
Additionally, the committee stressed the importance of completing the digital transformation plan, fully digitizing government services, and developing AI infrastructure. Other recommendations included unifying support programs for small and medium-sized enterprises, launching new programs after assessing existing challenges, supporting rural productive projects under a single framework, establishing an investor protection unit, following up on outcomes of His Majesty's visits to maximize investment opportunities, and preparing feedback on the investment environment law to further enhance it.
The committee stated that its approval of the draft budget is based on a comprehensive technical assessment aimed at enhancing public spending efficiency, improving services, and supporting economic growth goals expected to positively impact citizens and the national economy.