Related: Jordan Slipping Out of U.S. Sphere
Not to worry; we got our guy!
"Jordan’s king picks prime minister; Former official of royal court to focus on economy" by Massoud A. Derhally, Bloomberg | December 10, 2009
BEIRUT - The appointment of Samir Rifai, 43, a former minister of Jordan’s Royal Court, occurs as Jordan, a US ally, deals with a slowing economy and dwindling foreign investment. He was previously chief executive officer of Jordan Dubai Capital, an affiliate of Dubai International Capital. Rifai has a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University and a master’s degree from Cambridge University....
The new prime minister “is well educated, highly connected, open-minded, knows the problems and the challenges of the country close-up, and has an appropriate private-sector mentality,’’ Nashat Masri, a partner at Foursan Group, a Jordanian private equity firm and son of a former prime minister, said in a telephone interview....
The economy slowed to a 2.8 percent annual growth rate in the second quarter, half the rate for all of 2008. At the same time, the country received $204 million in foreign grants in the first 10 months of 2009, a 71 percent drop amid the global financial crisis, according to Finance Ministry data.
“The government is hunkering for a long recession, and these dramatic changes in the political order appear to be prompted by growing alarm at the country’s economic prospects,’’ Robert Powell, an economist at the Economist Intelligence Unit in New York, said yesterday in a telephone interview.
“Although Jordan has ridden out the recession and the global financial crisis relatively well, its huge reliance on foreign aid and investment leaves it vulnerable,’’ Powell said.
And they don't have an war criminal siege surrounding them like Gaza!!!!
Imagine what life would be like if you had to deal with that!!
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