AMMAN — Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply Yarub Qudah on Thursday underscored Jordan’s “robust” trade relations with Arab countries, highlighting the significant share of intra-Arab trade within Jordan’s overall foreign trade.
He stressed the Kingdom’s progress in diversifying export markets and product offerings, enhancing the competitiveness of national industries, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.
During a dialogue session hosted by the Jordan Strategy Forum (JSF) titled “Prospects for Trade and Economic Cooperation between Jordan and Syria: A Launch towards Joint Arab Integration,” Qudah highlighted the ongoing efforts to boost cooperation with Syria, stressing commitment to supporting the Syrian people beyond economic interests.
He outlined his recent visit to the Jaber border crossing, aimed at closely monitoring the flow of land freight and trade between the two countries.
The minister underscored the importance of fostering direct and fruitful economic partnerships between the business communities of both nations.
Qudah highlighted the Kingdom’s strategic position as a regional hub with well-developed infrastructure, facilitating the efficient movement of goods.
He highlighted the ongoing development of the Mafraq development zone, strategically positioned to serve as a key centre for economic cooperation and trade exchange with Syria, providing essential infrastructure services to support Syria’s reconstruction efforts.
He stressed the need to remove obstacles hindering trade movement through the Syrian-Turkish Bab Al Hawa crossing, a “crucial” gateway for Arab exports to European markets.
Qudah stressed the importance of leveraging the benefits of the agreement to simplify rules of origin with the EU and expressed Jordan’s commitment to extending this agreement beyond 2030, particularly in light of the challenges faced by land ports in recent years.
He reaffirmed Jordan’s commitment to fostering “strong” economic and trade relations with Syria and neighbouring countries, referring to the establishment of technical working groups to expedite progress in this regard.
JSF Chairperson Fares Sharaf stressed that the forum’s approach prioritises dialogue between the public and private sectors to support the implementation of national policies and priorities.
Sharaf highlighted that boosting the partnership between Jordan and Syria is not merely a “strategic option” but an “urgent necessity for a more prosperous and stable future for the region.”
JSF Executive Director Nisreen Barakat presented an overview of opportunities and potential in economic relations between Jordan and Syria.
She highlighted that the Arab economy, despite constituting 3 per cent of global output and 6 per cent of international trade, suffers from low intra-Arab trade (15 per cent compared to 58 per cent in the EU).
She also pointed to low Arab economic participation rates (48 per cent compared to the global average of 66 per cent) and high unemployment rates in the Arab world.
In this context, she stressed the urgent need for an Arab integration project, starting with bilateral partnerships that drive desired levels of growth and inter-trade.
Barakat noted that trade exchange between Jordan and Syria, which exceeded $500 million between 2004 and 2011, declined significantly to some $182 million in 2023 due to regional political and economic turmoil.
