Jordan keen to increase trade ties with Pakistan

F.P. Report

ISLAMABAD: Ambassador of Jordan to Pakistan Ibrahim Al-Madani  Wednesday said that his country wanted to increase bilateral trade relations with Pakistan by intensifying the engagement between the private sector of both the countries.
Talking to Vice President Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) Umar Masood-ur-Rehman and Chairman Coordination Mirza Abdul Rehman, the ambassador said that most important way to increase bilateral trade was enhancing business-to-business cooperation and people-to-people contacts in different sectors.
He said that in the coming months there would be high-level visits by trade delegations, which would further cement the bilateral relations between both the countries.
Jordanian Ambassador said that he was committed to provide all possible facilities to Pakistani businessmen in joint ventures, including finding investment opportunities in Jordan.
He said that Jordan had strong and historic relations with Pakistan based on mutual respect and common values and these bounds would further strengthen during the days to come.
The two countries will not reap the benefits unless both sides show interest, he said adding that Pakistani products could be exported to Jordan including fabrics, garments and agricultural seeds, machinery and spare parts, oil, juice, cotton, fiber optics, paper, leather and many more items have huge marketing potential.
The ambassador said Jordan has the potential to exports to Pakistan fertilizers, iron, pharmaceuticals, plastics, processed food products, some agricultural products and machinery.
FPCCI Vice President Umar Masood-ur-Rehman thanked the Jordanian Ambassador for visiting the FPCCI Capital Office and said that Pakistan have a long history of bilateral trade while the volume of trade was very small.
He drew the attention of the Jordanian Ambassador to the Special Economic Zones of Pakistan and said that Jordanian companies could take full benefits by setting up their own manufacturing plants in Pakistan as labor here was much cheaper than in Jordan.
He said that in order to remove trade barriers and increase trade volume, the business community of both the countries must be brought closer.
Umar Masood-ur-Rehman said that there were excellent investment opportunities for Jordanian investors in various sectors including energy, tourism, information technology, food processing, agriculture, dairy development, furniture processing, hotel industry and development of tourist destinations. Therefore, Jordanian investors should take full advantage of these opportunities.
Mirza Abdul Rehman Chairman Coordination FPCCI speaking on the occasion said that promotion of bilateral trade between Pakistan and Jordan was necessary, increasing the volume of trade between the two countries was need of the time.
He said that there were vast investment opportunities existing in different segments of national economy, adding that promotion of bilateral trade between Pakistan and Jordan would be beneficial for both the countries.
He said that Pakistan had immense investment opportunities in oil, gas and minerals sectors, besides tourism, adding that the experience of Jordan’s tourism sector could be used for development in the sector.