Senate panel reviews cooperation mechanisms with EU

The Senate’s Jordanian Friendship Committee with the European Parliament, headed by Dr. Nidal Qattamin, reviewed the Kingdom’s cooperation mechanism with the EU, at its meeting held on Thursday.

Qattamin highlighted the importance of focusing on Jordan’s “attractive” investment environment and “real” partnership with the local and international private sector, and facilitating procedures to create investment opportunities in various industrial and economic sectors, to provide job opportunities for Jordanians, which would reduce unemployment rates.

Addressing the senators, Minister of Trade and Industry, Maha Ali, said Jordan deems the EU a “close” partner in all aspects, and its relations with the bloc represent a “successful and fruitful” partnership model.

Jordan signed a partnership agreement with the EU countries on November 24, 1997, with the aim of developing economic relations and cooperation in various fields and creating “favorable” conditions to develop joint trade exchange and investments, according to the minister.

The agreement entered into force on May 1, 2002, and replaced the cooperation agreement signed between the two sides in 1977, which aimed to simplify the applicable rules of origin between Jordan and the EU in 2016, the minister added.

Jordanian government, she said, “achieved more flexibility and further relieved rules of origin in 2018,” which increased entry of Jordanian exports into European markets and attracted foreign investments to the Kingdom, according to the minister.

During the first 6 months of 2021, Jordan’s exports to the EU nearly stood at $135.5 million, marking an increase of 35.6 percent, compared to the same period of 2021, meanwhile Jordanian imports from the bloc amounted to about $1.580.5 billion, an increase of 24.3 percent, compared to the same period in 2020, the minister added.

Source: Jordan News Agency