As part of the “Jordan Relaunched” program unveiled at last month’s World Economic Forum, the Kingdom laid out investment opportunities worth $20 billion that aim to create 180,000 desperately-needed new jobs over the next decade.

If successfully funded, the ambitious proposals, which cover the energy, transport, water, ICT, and infrastructure sectors, will join a raft of other confirmed projects worth some $7 billon that were also announced at the two-day meeting at the Dead Sea.

Against a backdrop of continuing regional economic and political turmoil, delegates at the event called for greater investment to be made in countries like Jordan.

In turn, Suma Chakrabarti, the president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), said the Kingdom should not shy away from telling the world about how it’s managing to succeed against the odds. “One doesn’t get to choose its neighbors and there’s no doubt that Jordan is [located] in a very tough neighborhood,” he said. “But what Jordan must show is that it is not defined by regional conflict, but on the contrary, is a stable place to do business.”

The EBRD started operations in the Kingdom in 2012 and its investments, up to date, are valued at some $340 million that could extend to $680 million if all the projects, mostly in renewable energy and aiding SMEs, on the table went ahead.