Discussions in Amman on Ways and Mechanisms to Enhance Trade and Investment Cooperation between Morocco and Jordan
Moroccan Ambassador to Jordan Fouad Akhrif held talks yesterday with a delegation from the Board of Directors of the Amman Chamber of Commerce, focusing on ways and mechanisms to develop and enhance trade and investment cooperation between the two countries, as well as to take advantage of shared economic opportunities.
During the meeting, Akhrif highlighted the “strength of the historical relations” between Morocco and Jordan, emphasizing the need to strengthen economic cooperation “to meet the common aspirations” of both nations.
He called for organizing a forum that would bring together businesspeople and companies from both countries, highlighting promising economic sectors through which bilateral relations could be developed and shared commercial and investment partnerships established.
The ambassador pointed to the investment and trade opportunities available in Morocco, “which Jordanian companies can benefit from to expand the trade exchange between the two countries, by activating bilateral agreements and exchanging delegational visits.”
For his part, the President of the Amman Chamber of Commerce, Khalil Al-Haj Tawfiq, confirmed that the bilateral relations between Jordan and Morocco are deep-rooted and solid, “which calls for their strengthening in all areas, especially economically, and opening a new chapter of cooperation between private sector institutions” in both countries.
He noted that the slow pace of delegational visits and networking between the chambers of commerce in both countries “are two main reasons for the limited trade exchange between them, necessitating enhancing institutional communication and finding mechanisms for continuous networking, in addition to exchanging information about available investment and trade opportunities, which opens new horizons for economic cooperation” between Jordan and Morocco.
The Jordanian official expressed the readiness of the Amman Chamber of Commerce to support Moroccan companies seeking to enter the Jordanian market and network with it, as well as “supporting cooperation between the private sectors of the two countries by contributing to reconstruction projects in Syria,” indicating that Jordan “wishes to penetrate the African market and establish a presence there through Morocco.”
Members of the chamber’s board stressed the necessity of activating and strengthening the agreements and memorandums of understanding between the two countries, which would contribute to enhancing cooperation in economic fields and increasing the value of trade exchanges by diversifying goods, along with cooperation in tourism, transport, and logistics.
They emphasized that the anticipated return of direct flights between the two countries this year will contribute to increasing movement between them, calling for the need to work on “developing more efficient and quicker transport routes,” which will open wider horizons for economic cooperation and trade exchange between the two countries.
It’s worth noting that Jordan’s exports to Morocco last year amounted to 42 million Jordanian dinars (over 59 million dollars), compared to approximately 9 million dinars in imports (around 13 million dollars).
