Economists: A $15 billion portfolio moves Jordanian-European partnership towards investment and production

Jordan is entering an advanced stage of preparation for the conference, scheduled for November 19 at the King Hussein bin Talal Convention Center in the Dead Sea, with an opportunity portfolio valued at nearly $15 billion, or approximately 13 billion euros, distributed across 15 sectors and sub-sectors. The conference is under the patronage of His Majesty King Abdullah II and attended by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.

Economic expert Wajdi Makhamra said the portfolio represents an opportunity to increase the production capacity of the Jordanian economy, support infrastructure, and attract additional investments, noting that European investment can carry a value beyond financing, through providing technical expertise, technology, and management standards, and opening channels for Jordanian companies to access European markets and global supply chains.

He added that energy, mining, water, and transportation projects can address structural challenges in the economy, through supporting energy security, sustainability, and enhancing Jordan's position as a regional transport and trade hub.

Makhamra stressed the need not to treat the $15 billion as confirmed investments, as it is a portfolio of opportunities presented, explaining that the success of the conference is measured by the extent to which these opportunities are converted into fundable projects, financial closures, and actual implementation, which requires complete feasibility studies, clear financial models, appropriate partnership frameworks, and suitable financing mechanisms.

For his part, economic expert Monir Dia said the value of the proposed projects exceeds 13 billion euros, distributed across 15 sub-sectors, with the mining sector accounting for nearly half of the proposed investments. The projects include natural gas, hydroelectric and renewable energy, wind energy, green hydrogen, energy storage, and rare earth elements.

He added that the transportation sector includes projects worth over 3.1 billion euros, including national and light railways, while logistics services investments are estimated at about 1.4 billion euros, including the Madaba Center, Jaber Border, and Ma'an Land Port, and the Mafraq Development Zone, alongside projects in tourism, water, circular economy, agriculture, phosphates, and clean technology.

Dia pointed out that the conference can contribute to increasing European investment flows, deepening economic partnerships, boosting trade and exports, and benefiting from European expertise and skills, affirming that the royal follow-up and the Crown Prince's interest in the conference reflect its importance in achieving the objectives of the Economic Modernization Vision and enhancing the competitiveness of the national economy.

For his part, financial and economic expert Dr. Muhammad Al-Hadab Al-Sarhan confirmed that the conference represents an opportunity beyond presenting an investment portfolio valued at nearly $15 billion, to building a path to transform the partnership with Europe into productive investments that transfer technology, expand exports, and link Jordanian companies to European supply chains and create sustainable job opportunities.

He explained that the announced figure represents opportunities presented and not achieved investments, and that the real criterion will be the size of the projects that reach financing, implementation, and production. He pointed out that this is particularly important given the growth of real GDP by 2.9% in the first quarter of 2026, and the unemployment rate among Jordanians reaching 21% in the second quarter, which requires investments that increase productivity and expand the production and export base.

Al-Sarhan pointed out that the concentration of the portfolio in energy and mining at about $7.1 billion, transportation at about $3.56 billion, and logistics services at about $1.61 billion, means that these sectors collectively account for nearly 82% of the portfolio's value, making them capable of influencing the productive and competitive structure of the economy.

He said that the portfolio should not be limited to the announced projects but should also allow European investors to present new projects in Jordan, while providing a clear and rapid path for what they need in terms of land, energy, water, licenses, skills, financing, and local partners.

He highlighted the importance of considering investments that can arise around major projects, as railways can generate investments in storage, maintenance, services, and industries, mining projects can lead to transformative industries that increase the value of resources before exporting them, while energy projects can support the establishment of new industries.

He emphasized that the quality of investment is not measured by its financial size alone but by its ability to employ Jordanians, train them, transfer technology, purchase local products and services, increase exports, and attract additional investments and suppliers.

Al-Sarhan pointed out that the European partnership package of 3 billion euros for the period 2025-2027 can play a catalytic role in attracting private capital, calling for measuring the impact of the conference after six months, one year, and two years through the number of projects that reached financial closure and production, the jobs they created, the Jordanian companies that became suppliers, and the volume of exports and additional investments they generated.

The experts concluded that the importance of the conference lies not only in the size of the opportunity portfolio but also in Jordan's ability to convert it into productive investments, implementable projects, exports, job opportunities, and technology transfer, thereby deepening the economic partnership with the European Union and supporting the objectives of the Economic Modernization Vision.