Experts: Crown Prince's Meeting with 'DFC' Supports Transforming Jordan into a Regional Investment Platform

His Highness Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II met with the CEO of the US International Development Finance Corporation, Ben Black, in New York City on Sunday.

The meeting discussed mechanisms to enhance cooperation between Jordan and the institution in major and vital projects, ensuring the investment of Jordan's geographical location as an integrated regional center for exchange and connectivity in the fields of energy, logistics services, water, railways, and the internet. The meeting was attended by the Director of His Highness the Crown Prince's Office, Zaid Al-Baq'a'in.

In turn, economic expert Wajdi Makhamra pointed out that the meeting between His Highness Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II and the CEO of the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), Ben Black, carries several important economic implications, especially as the discussion focused on strategic projects in energy, water, transportation, railways, logistics, and the internet.

Makhamra added that the most prominent implications of this meeting are that Jordan seeks to transform its geographical location from a mere geographical advantage into an economic and investment advantage, by developing an integrated network that connects it to regional markets in the fields of energy, trade, transportation, and data, which can enhance Jordan's role as a regional hub for connectivity and logistics services.

He added that the importance of cooperation with this institution lies in its ability to mobilize private capital alongside direct financing, which is important for Jordan in implementing major projects without increasing pressure on the public budget. Consequently, the institution can be an important partner in transforming government projects into investable projects, through public-private partnerships, long-term financing, and risk guarantees.

He also added that the National Water Carrier project stands out as a practical model, especially with DFC's participation in financing the project, which confirms the possibility of expanding cooperation to include other strategic projects related to water security and energy.

He mentioned that in the field of railways and logistics, these projects open the door for Jordan to reduce transportation costs and connect production and mining areas to the port of Aqaba, and possibly enhance future connectivity with neighboring countries, which supports trade, exports, and attracts new industrial investments.

Likewise, the inclusion of the internet sector and digital infrastructure in the discussion of the Crown Prince with this institution reflects a shift in the concept of infrastructure from roads, energy, and water only to the digital economy, data centers, communications, and technological services, which are sectors that can provide new opportunities for investment and employment.

Economic expert Hussam Aaish said that the meetings of His Highness the Crown Prince with economic institutions, events, investors, businessmen, and information technology companies express the economic diplomacy of His Highness, and in presenting Jordan to the outside world as an opportunity and a partner.

Aaish added that the activity of His Highness the Crown Prince goes beyond the idea of international economic meetings to follow up on projects, to take broader dimensions represented in presenting Jordan to the world as a reliable economic and investment partner, possessing stability, location, experience, status, technical and human capability, and the potential to play the regional role that now includes many of its components, through connecting markets and vital sectors, and also to overcome challenges, including those related to the Strait of Hormuz.

Aaish pointed out that the meetings of His Highness are of particular importance because they open direct channels with entities that possess capital, experience, technology, and the ability to finance major projects, and through these channels, Jordanian priorities in water, energy, transportation, and logistics are presented.

Aaish explained that the direct communication of the Crown Prince with these institutions helps build trust and understand the requirements of investors, and open the door to long-term partnerships that go beyond the idea of grants and aid to productive investment, technology transfer, experience, skill development, and job creation.

Financial and economic expert Dr. Muhammad Al-Hadb Al-Sarhan confirmed that the meeting between His Highness Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II and the CEO of the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), Ben Black, carries economic importance that goes beyond seeking funding for a specific project, because the sectors discussed in the meeting; energy, water, railways, logistics, and the internet, collectively represent the basic infrastructure that can enhance Jordan's position as a regional connectivity center.

He added that the economic value of the geographical location is not achieved merely by Jordan's presence between the Gulf and the Mediterranean, but by having an interconnected network that can efficiently and stably transport energy, goods, water, and data. Hence, the transition from talking about the 'strategic location' to financing the infrastructure that makes this location a productive economic entity is the most important step.

Al-Sarhan explained that the importance of the DFC is clearly shown by its actual entry into the National Carrier project, as its board recently approved a loan of up to $1 billion for the project, in addition to securing political risks of up to $800 million for investors. The $800 million is not additional cash funding, but an important tool to reduce the risks borne by private capital. This is the point on which to build in other projects; developmental finance institutions do not only add their money to the project, but they can also help improve its financing potential and attract other banks, funds, and investors. In projects that require billions of dollars, the most important question becomes not just 'who will finance the project?', but how each dollar of developmental funding can help attract several dollars of private capital.

Al-Sarhan pointed out that the greatest opportunity for Jordan lies in dealing with the sectors mentioned in the meeting as a single system, not as separate projects. Railways gain value when connected to ports, logistics centers, and industrial zones, high-capacity internet networks become more impactful when attracting data centers and digital companies, and energy investment gains greater value when serving industry, transportation, and new projects, while water security forms a basic condition for the sustainability of cities, investment, and production. Therefore, the success of a major project should also be measured by the volume of investments that arise around it; a railway line, for example, should not only transport goods but can create warehouses, distribution centers, industries, maintenance services, and transportation companies around its stations, thereby transforming the project from an infrastructure asset into a generator of additional economic activity.

Al-Sarhan explained that the next phase requires preparing strategic project files in the language of investors and financiers, so that each project has a clear revenue model, a specific risk distribution, a timeline, ready permits and lands, a mechanism for partnership with the private sector, in addition to identifying opportunities for Jordanian companies within the supply chain. International financial institutions do not fund a general idea, no matter how important it is, but rather fund a project that is financially and operationally viable. One of the most important results of cooperation with DFC could be the transition from financing a single project to building a Jordanian portfolio of investable projects in the sectors discussed by His Highness the Crown Prince, taking advantage of loan tools and risk insurance to attract private capital and reduce reliance on direct government funding.

Al-Sarhan concluded by saying that the real value of international economic meetings is shown in what happens after them, and therefore the results should be measured by the number of projects that move from discussion to study, from study to financing, and then to financial closure, implementation, and operation. The amount of private capital attracted, the percentage of local purchases, the jobs created, and the new investments that arise around each project should also be measured. If Jordan can connect water, energy, railways, logistics, and digital infrastructure in a single investment vision, the Kingdom will not only benefit from its geographical location as a corridor between markets, but can gradually transform into a regional platform that produces, stores, transports, and connects, and here the infrastructure itself becomes one of the most important tools for attracting investment and economic growth.