Category: Business & Finance

Baghdad, The Amman Chamber of Commerce (ACC) and the Baghdad Chamber of Commerce (BCC) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to enhance and encourage economic cooperation between Jordan and Iraq.

The agreement, signed by ACC President Khalil Haj Tawfiq and BCC President Firas Hamdani in Baghdad, seeks to establish effective communication means to promote investments, share information on investment laws and incentives provided for chamber members, and exchange business visits to promote national products and investment opportunities.

Moreover, the deal stipulates holding training sessions to exchange expertise and sharing statistics and economic data.

In a statement on Thursday, Tawfiq said the MoU highlights the strong Jordanian-Iraqi relations and facilitates two-way trade, urging the Jordanian private sector to leverage the “positive atmosphere” between the two countries.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Amman, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Ayman Safadi, on Thursday received a phone call from Kazakhstan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mukhtar Tileuberdi, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of Jordanian-Kazakh diplomatic relations.

During the phone conversation, the two ministers discussed mechanisms to enhance joint cooperation in various fields, especially in the economic, trade and cultural areas, stressing the importance of holding the 5th session of the joint Jordanian-Kazakh committee meetings.

The duo also stressed the necessity of maintaining joint action, consultation and coordination on issues of common concern, as well as cooperation within the framework of international organizations.

Safadi lauded Kazakhstan’s “key” role within the framework of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA).

For his part, Tileuberdi stressed the “deep-rooted” bilateral relations, adding that Jordan is a “significant” partner for Kazakhstan in the Middle East region.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Baghdad, A development tender for a joint Jordanian-Iraqi economic city will be floated during the current year, announced Minister of Industry, Trade, and Supply and Minister of Labor Yousef Shamali.

During a ceremony held on the sidelines of the Jordanian-Iraqi Business Forum held in Baghdad, the minister said the bid will be available for Jordanian and Iraqi companies and the global community to embark on the border city project.

The Iraqi market is the second top destination for Jordanian exports, he noted, adding that trade between the two countries jumped by 62 percent during the first ten months of 2022.

Noting multiple economic cooperation prospects in Jordanian renewable energy, mining, information and communication technology, healthcare, and tourism sectors, Shamali stressed the government’s commitment to facilitating Iraqi investors’ access to the local market.

During the ceremony attended by Iraqi Minister of Industry and Minerals Khaled Najm, Shamali said the current Jordanian private sector delegation’s visit to Iraq affirms the business community’s commitment to strategic ties between Jordan and Iraq.

The Jordanian delegation participating in the forum comprises representatives of companies in sectors of foodstuffs, communication and information technology, medicine, garment, financial, banking, and educational services, insurance, construction, contracting, real estate, tourism, agriculture, mining, and plastic.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Amman, Prices of 21-karat gold, the highest demand at local market, stood at JD38.30 per gramme, as purchasing price, against JD36.10 as selling price, an official said Thursday.

Jordan Jewelers Association’s Secretary General, Ribhy Allan, told Jordan News Agency (Petra) that the price of 24-karat and 18-karat gold amounted to JD44.80 and JD34.30 respectively.

The price of a Rashadi lira, weighing seven grammes, stood at JD270, while an English lira, which weighs eight grammes reached JD308, Allan said.

He added that gold prices in global markets on Thursday afternoon reached $1,885 per ounce.

Source: Jordan News Agency

The Jordan Phosphate Mines Company (JPMC) topped the list of the top 10 local economic institutions in terms of market value, with a value of JD3.5 billion.

JPMC share made unprecedented successes and increases in the past days, as it closed at JD45.85 on Tuesday.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Minister of Social Development Wafaa Bani Mustafa called for increasing women’s participation in political decision-making, saying it would guarantee sustainable development, democracy, and achieving national interests.

The minister, speaking at the third annual FemParl MENA conference on Tuesday, emphasized the importance of the event as a platform for participants to network with their regional and international peers and share experiences and best practices in the field of women’s political, economic, and social empowerment.

The Canadian Embassy in Jordan organized the conference, which brought together lawmakers and officials from Jordan, Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Tunisia, and the United Arab Emirates.

Bani Mustafa addressed women’s empowerment in Jordan, noting that the Kingdom has made significant strides on multiple fronts to ensure that women in Jordan are able to fully participate in public life. She went on to say that in 2022, constitutional changes were made to the election and party laws in Jordan to implement a royal vision for a more inclusive political system that would give women and young people a greater voice in politics.

In 2019, Jordan formed a national team of 17 experts on the issue of ending violence against women in public settings. In addition to the publication of a guide on violence against women in public life, which details preventative measures on the national, parliamentary, political party, civil society, media, and social networking site levels, a hot line was also established for the filing of complaints on violence against women in the public life. The Cybercrime Law No. 27 was issued in 2015 to address crimes committed in cyberspace, and the Anti-Cybercrime Unit was established in 2008 by the Public Security Department, the minister said.

She noted that while the technological revolution has had many positive effects on people’s lives, it has also had some negative ones, and that people may be more vulnerable to exploitation and privacy invasions in the online sphere. The minister urged women in public office and decision-making positions to address cyber violence by blocking abusive followers and moderating online comments.

Source: Jordan News Agency

About 3 million cubic meters (mcm) filled up the Kingdom’ dams in just five hours on Tuesday, the Ministry of Water and Irrigation said in a statement.

Breaking down the figure, the ministry said that the King Talal Dam was filled up with about 1.6 mcm, followed by the Kafrin Dam with 190,000 cubic meters, bringing the total storage to 32.5 mcm, or 48.6 percent, in the King Talal Dam and 4.5 mcm, or 52 percent, in the Kafrin Dam. Dams south of the Kingdom have yet to be filled up, the statement added.

Overall, the Kingdom’s main dams now hold 33.16 percent, or 93.5 mcm, of their total storage capacity of 280.7 mcm.

As such, 64 percent of the Kingdom’s long term rainfall average of 8.1 billion cubic meters has been realized since the start of the wet season.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Jordan’s industrial products have “great” opportunities to enter the Canadian market, thanks to their high quality and a free trade agreement (FTA) signed between the two countries, the President of the Jordan Exporters Association (JEA), Ahmad Khudari, said in a statement on Tuesday.

During a two-day training course organized by the JEA, in cooperation with the Canadian Trade Facilitation Office (TFO), Khudari highlighted the significance of optimizing the various and promising opportunities provided by the Jordan-Canada FTA, which entered into force in 2012, to increase the Kingdom’s exports.

He emphasized that the association is constantly keen to hold training workshops and specialized seminars for Jordanian companies with the aim of increasing the benefit from the FTAs between the Kingdom and many other countries.

Khudari also appreciated the TFO’s role in implementing programs, in collaboration with the JEA, to help Jordanian firms and businesswomen reach new markets, mainly Canadian.

In turn, JEA Director General Halim Abu Rahma, indicated that the training workshop was attended by representatives of 41 industrial companies in the field of food processing and cosmetics, stressing that the association will continue organizing activities and participating in various exhibitions.

National exports to Canada soared 54 percent in January-November 2022, reaching JD71 million, compared to JD46 million in the same period of 2021.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Amman, Patent applications submitted to the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply increased by 6% during 2022, compared to 2021, according to official figures.

In a statement, the ministry’s head of the Industrial Property Protection Directorate, Raya Ensour, said a total of 357 patent applications were recorded in 2022, compared with 338 in 2021.

Meanwhile, Ensour noted 18 applicants submitted files for global institutions, in accordance with the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), reflecting a “remarkable” growth in 2022, and 54 patents were registered in the same year.

Ensour noted the directorate’s statistical 2022 data showed a “significant” increase in application submission for trademark registration, standing at 7,939, applications, compared to 7,794 in 2021.

In addition, the directorate registered 5,084 new trademarks, compared to 5, 551 in 2021, Ensour announced, adding that it received 15,542 e-transactions last year, compared to 11,908 paper-based transactions.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Amman, The recent rainfall raised the overall volume of precipitation to 56.1 percent of Jordan’s long-term annual average of 8.1 billion cubic meters, channeling some 1.5 million cubic meters (mcm) into dams in the last 24 hours, according to official figures.

The Ministry of Water and Irrigation on Sunday said that Salt saw the highest downpour of 19.8 millimeters (mm). Furthermore, Amman witnessed 6.8mm of rain, as well as 7.7mm in Balqa, 4.4mm in Madaba, 1.7mm in Zarqa, 4.1mm in Jerash, 1.7mm in Mafraq, 8.1mm in Irbid, 9.4mm in Ajloun, and 0.8mm in Karak.

The total storage in the Kingdom’s dams was raised to 89.5mcm or 31.88 percent of their full capacity of 280.759mcm, according to the ministry’s figures, which showed that the rainfall poured into northern and central dams only.

Source: Jordan News Agency