Opening the workshop, H.E. Eng. Basem Telfah, Secretary General of the Ministry of Water and Irrigation, restated the Ministry’s commitment to work together with the implementers. Following a brief review of Jordan’s key challenges affecting the water sector and the country’s experience with private sector participation, Eng. Basem shared with the participants the expectations as well as the anticipated added value of the programme in the context of the current and ongoing water sector reform process. In his opening remarks, H.E. Dr. Shaddad Attili, Minister of Water in Palestine, reaffirmed his support to the programme and the importance of understanding water PSP in the course of national water reform efforts, as in the case of Palestine with the ongoing implementation of the Water Governance Programme. Dr. Shaddad stressed the merit of experience sharing and the learning value from the findings of the Jordanian Policy Dialogue given that Palestine is among the next group of focus countries of the programme.
In the context of the Southern Co-Presidency of the Union for the Mediterranean assumed by Jordan and the endorsement of the Programme by its 43 countries members, Mr. Fuad Bateh, Senior Advisor for Environment & Water at the UfM, stressed the significance of the Governance & Financing for the Mediterranean Water Sector for Jordan as well as the whole Region. Following Mr. Bateh’s intervention, the Counsellor at the Embassy of Sweden in Amman, Prof. Anders Jägerskog, highlighted the support of the Swedish Government to this endeavour, manifested through the strategic partnership and the financial support of Sida that has been catalytic for commencing with the implementation of the programme.
In the course of the Policy Dialogue, a draft National Report has been prepared by a team of OECD experts, including a diagnostic analysis of the sector and preliminary recommendations on three identified priority areas: financial sustainability, stakeholders’ engagement and the development of a high quality regulatory framework. The draft Report formed the background and the basis for the discussions during the Second Consultation Workshop. Relevant stakeholders -including government authorities, Civil Society, donor community and private sector representatives- expressed broad agreement with the diagnostic analysis and the recommendations as identified in the draft Report.
Stakeholders shared their experiences and comments, which will be taken duly into account and be reflected upon in the revised version of the Report, expected towards the end of March 2014.
Back-to-back with the 2nd Consultation Workshop, the project team held a meeting with the key donor group active in Jordan’s water sector. The meeting was hosted at the Embassy of Sweden in Jordan and aimed to align the governance and financing analysis of the programme with the work of donors so as to enhance complementarities and synergies.
Further to the revision and finalisation of the National Report, the steps forward include the drafting of an Action Plan that will constitute a powerful tool in the hands of the policy makers for putting into practice the Report’s key recommendations.
Please find below all relevant documents:
Photos from the workshop are available here.