Jordanian ministers submit resignation before government reshuffle

The Jordanian government's ministers have submitted their resignation ahead of a reshuffle, state-owned al-Mamlaka television said on Sunday.

The reshuffle would be the fourth since Bisher al-Khasawneh became prime minister in October 2020, official sources said.

The British-educated Khasawneh, a veteran former diplomat and palace aide, was appointed by Jordan's King Abdullah to restore public trust over the handling of the coronavirus health crisis and defuse anger over successive governments’ failure to deliver on pledges of prosperity and curbing corruption.

Khasawneh's government has won International Monetary Fund praise for its handling of the economy during the pandemic and had negotiated a four-year IMF programme worth $1.3 billion, signalling confidence in Jordan’s reform agenda.

The economy posted its deepest contraction in decades last year, hit by lockdowns, border closures and a sharp fall in tourism during the pandemic, but the government and the IMF both predict a rebound this year of around 2 percent.