Jordan is a small country with limited natural resources. The country is exploring ways to expand its limited water supply and use its existing water resources more efficiently, including regional cooperation with Israel. The country depends on external sources for the majority of its energy requirements. In the 1990s, its crude petroleum needs were met through imports from Iraq and neighboring countries. Since early 2003, oil has been provided by some Gulf Cooperation Council member countries. In addition, the Arab Gas Pipeline from Egypt to the southern port of Aqaba was completed in 2003. In 2005 the pipeline extended north to the Amman area, in 2008 it reached Syriya and in 2009 to Lebanon.
Since King Abdullah II's accession to the throne in 1999, liberal economic policies have resulted in a continuing boom. Jordan is the 4th freest economy in the Middle East and North Africa, beating traditionally free economies like Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Lebanon. Jordan's developed and modern banking sector is becoming the investment destination of choice due to its conservative bank policies that helped Jordan escape the worst of the global financial crisis of 2009. With instability across the region in Iraq and Lebanon, Jordan is emerging as the "business capital of the Levant" and "the next Beirut". Jordan's economy has been growing at an annual rate of 7% for a decade. Jordan's economy is undergoing a major shift from an aid-dependent, rentier economy to one of the most robust, open and competitive economies in the region. In recent years, there has been shift to knowledge-intensive industries, i.e ICT, and a rapidly growing trade sector benefiting from regional instability. The Jordanian market is considered the most developed Arab market outside the Gulf states.
Jordan has more free trade agreements than any other Arab country. It has such agreements with the United States, Canada, Singapore, Malaysia, the European Union, Tunisia, Algeria,