IV. Political Environment

Nature of Bilateral Relationship with the United States

Jordan has had strong relations with the United States since World War II.
The U.S. is one of Jordan's largest trading partners and has provided foreign
assistance since the late 1940's.  The U.S. is continuing its strong
friendship with Jordan by providing foreign development and military
assistance and by working to promote a Middle East peace settlement between
the Arab states and Israel.


Major Political Issues affecting the Business Climate

In large part, Jordan's geography dictates its foreign policy.  The key
political issue affecting Jordan is the Arab-Israeli peace process.  Another
priority is relations with Arab Gulf states.  These relations suffered
following the Gulf War.   This hurt Jordan's attractiveness as a regional
business center due to market restrictions on Jordanian goods.  But political
relations are slowly improving and goods are once again moving freely to most
Gulf states.  A final issue is the situation with Iraq.  The U.N. Sanctions
against Iraq have significantly reduced Jordanian trade volumes to that
country.  Businessmen expect that once the embargo is lifted trade to Iraq
through Jordan will increase dramatically.


Brief Synopsis of Political System, Schedule for Elections, and Orientation of
Major Political Parties

Jordan is a constitutional monarchy ruled, since 1952, by His Majesty King
Hussein Ibn Talal.  Under the constitution, power is vested in the King and
the Parliament, which consists of a Senate and a House of Representatives.
The Senate is comprised of 40 appointed members, while the House of
Representatives is comprised of 80 elected members.  The King appoints the
Prime Minister and the President and members of the Senate.  The Prime
Minister forms a cabinet to manage the internal and external affairs of the
government and is the government's working partner with the House of
Representatives.

After a long hiatus, parliamentary elections were held in November 1989 and
again in November 1993.  Representatives serve a four-year term.  Political
parties were legalized in 1992.  Of the approximately 20 political parties,
the largest and most cohesive is the Islamic Action Front (IAF), an arm of the
Muslim Brotherhood.  The IAF captured 16 seats, the largest bloc, in
parliament.  The other political parties have not yet coalesced into
well-organized bodies.  These parties represent the full spectrum of political
views from right to left, but tend to be centrist.