The Palestinian-Jordanian Joint Ministerial Committee completes bilateral cooperation files and arrangements to facilitate trade and encourage investment

Amman - Together - The work of the seventh session of the Palestinian-Jordanian Joint Ministerial Committee was launched in the Jordanian capital, Amman, in preparation for holding a meeting of the Supreme Committee headed by the prime ministers of both countries to develop and strengthen bilateral cooperation relations in various vital fields, which will be held tomorrow, Monday. The work of the Ministerial Committee was chaired this evening by the Minister of National Economy, Muhammad Al-Amour, and the Jordanian Minister of Industry, Trade, and Supply, Youssef Al-Shamali, with the participation of the relevant ministries and government institutions in both countries, in addition to representatives of the Palestinian and Jordanian private sectors. Minister Al-Amour stated that, over the course of two days, the Preparatory Committee completed memorandums of understanding, programs and cooperation agreements, especially in holding political consultations, ceremonies and ceremonies, in addition to the techni cal field in youth, tourism, social development, consumer protection, industry, agriculture, health, labour, energy, water, and communications. And the digital economy, and the post, and in the religious field, and the protection of Palestinian antiquities and sanctities, and other documents that frame the foundations for a strong bilateral relationship. Minister Al-Amour said, 'We meet at this most complex time in the history of the Palestinian issue, as we face unprecedented challenges that affect the lives of our people, and our future as a whole.' He added, 'We count on the brothers in Jordan, as they have always and historically been supportive and supportive of the just cause of our people, and we work together to confront them.' The challenges and the culmination of our work are to develop this relationship and strengthen the bonds of economic cooperation in a way that serves the interests of the two brotherly peoples, based on the directives of President Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen and his brother, His Majesty King Abdullah II, and the instructions of Prime Minister Muhammad Mustafa and Jordanian Prime Minister Bisher Al-Khasawneh. The Minister expressed his thanks and appreciation to the King, government and people of Jordan for their historically consistent positions towards our people and our Palestinian cause, and congratulations on the occasion of the 78th Independence Day, with continued stability and security. In his speech, the Minister reviewed the agenda and program of the Palestinian government and its tasks despite the difficult circumstance in which it faces many challenges internally and externally, and the continuation of the genocidal war carried out by the occupation government since October 2023, in addition to the repercussions of the aggression on all components of Palestinian life politically, economically and socially, and the continuation of piracy and the theft of money. Palestinian taxes since 2019. The Minister pointed out that the Palestinian leadership continues to accumulate legal and diplomatic achievements and mobilize support in order to stop the aggression in order to end the Israeli occupation and embody the Palestinian state with its capital, Al-Quds Al-Sharif. The recent announcement by Norway, Ireland, Spain and Slovenia was an acknowledgment of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination. His fate. The minister pointed out Jordan's role since the beginning of the aggression, in supporting and assisting our Palestinian people, whether in political support in all international forums, or at the level of sending humanitarian aid to our people in the Gaza Strip, sending medicines and allocating 45 thousand tons of wheat and grains to support the steadfastness of our people also in the West Bank. And the establishment of field hospitals based on the instructions of King Abdullah. The Minister expressed the Kingdom's efforts to call for the International Conference on Action for the Urgent Humanitarian Response to Gaza, to be held in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jo rdan, expressing his hope that the conference will have high international participation and fruitful results that will contribute to alleviating the suffering of our people. He expressed his appreciation to the Committee for welcoming the decisions of the International Court of Justice and the precautionary orders and their demands. States have the right to implement these orders and bear their responsibilities. He pointed to the Kingdom's role in supporting the emergency response plan that was approved at the Bahrain Summit to address the repercussions of the Israeli aggression against the State of Palestine and the crime of genocide committed in the Gaza Strip, and called on countries and organizations to contribute to financing and implementing the plan. The Minister indicated that there was an agreement during the technical meeting of the committee on joint coordination regarding relief efforts, and this will be crowned in the memorandum of understanding that will be signed with the Jordanian Hashemite Charitable Organization, which also emphasized giving priority to the participation of the private sector in bids and supplies, and we are counting on the political role of the Kingdom. Jordanian government to restore trade with the Gaza Strip and ensure the unity of the Palestinian land between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. In the same context, the Minister stated that the committee paid additional attention to the issue of security coordination and travel, and we look forward to more facilities granted to our people from the Gaza Strip and to the business community in this regard. The minister said, 'The work of this committee is being held based on our firm belief in the strategic and political role of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, as the brothers in the Kingdom of Jordan were visited as the first official mission since the government took office, and it was agreed to hold this committee, and here we are today, discussing together prospects for cooperation to bridge the challenges.' Which prevents this relationship from achieving the level we aspire to, as the spirit of brotherhood, understanding, and positive atmosphere prevailed in the discussions and negotiations of the Technical Committee. He stressed the importance of continuing communication and following up on the implementation of what was agreed upon in the work of this committee, which resulted in the signing of many memorandums and plans. This places on us the responsibility of implementation, which requires building, accumulating achievements, and achieving different, tangible results on the ground. I stress the importance of forming a specialized committee to follow up on implementation effectively. The Minister pointed out that customs, trade, and economic cooperation had momentum during the committee's discussions, which is a focus This relationship is key to measuring the success of our efforts and increasing the level of trade exchange, which ultimately contributes to creating job opportunities and achieving economic recovery. Durin g the past ten years, there has been a positive increase in the level of imports by 227.6% and exports by 50.2%, and an increase in the volume of exchange. Trade between the two countries, which in 2022 reached about $432 million, a 32% increase over the year 2021. The Minister stressed the ambition and work to increase the volume of trade exchange between the two countries to exceed the billion-dollar barrier, in order to be consistent with the level of the historical bilateral relationship with Jordan, pointing to the efforts in coordination. With the Kingdom to work to overcome the obstacles we face, especially with regard to trade across the King Hussein Bridge, whether at the level of infrastructure development, increasing working hours, or implementing available options for direct transportation such as container shipping and trailer exchange. The minister pointed out providing incentives to the private sector for container shipping to encourage the Palestinian private sector to transfer trade from Is raeli ports to the King Hussein Bridge and the port of Aqaba. The minister added, "Despite many efforts, we faced many Israeli obstacles, whether related to transportation or congestion and accumulation of trucks, not benefiting from the scanner, limited working hours, and in harmonizing specifications, and the resulting high costs related to storage, examination, and return." Customs assessment and container insurance. The Minister said, 'With real will and joint efforts, we will be able to overcome this ceiling together and exploit the projects implemented by donors within a common vision, and complete what was agreed upon, whether in importing petroleum products, establishing the cement conveyor belt, or through improving Infrastructure to operate the commercial crossing for 24 hours, and separate the passenger crossing from the commercial crossing. We renew our demands to open other crossings, including Prince Mohammed Bridge, to be used for commercial purposes. He pointed out the agreement during the committee's work on customs electronic connectivity, following up on smuggling operations, and obtaining data related to transit licenses to facilitate the flow of goods to and from the Kingdom of Jordan, in addition to agreeing to extend working hours in the current stage for 12 hours, and we are confident that the challenges will be overcome by Meeting the requirements for extending working hours to 24 hours upon completion. The Minister mentioned the participation of the Palestinian private sector in the work of the committee, emphasizing our insistence on establishing fruitful investment partnerships in both countries. He welcomed what was agreed upon to establish a Jordanian-Palestinian economic forum that brings together the business community to introduce investment opportunities and begin establishing partnerships. In addition to agreeing to hold industrial exhibitions that would increase awareness and confidence in Palestinian and Jordanian products and provide the opportunity for these products to gain their share in our markets. We look forward to welcoming you to Palestine soon, hoping that the aggression will end and our hopes rest in freedom, an end to the occupation, and the embodiment of our Palestinian state. The Minister expressed his thanks and appreciation to the ministers, heads of the Ministerial Committee, and members of the Technical Committee for their exceptional efforts to complete the technical documents in preparation for their signing during the work of the Supreme Committee. In turn, the Jordanian Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply, Youssef Al-Shamali, said, 'These meetings are a form of the deep fraternal relations linking the two brotherly countries, established under the directives of His Majesty King Abdullah II and his brotherly President Mahmoud Abbas, and their keenness to advance these relations and advance them towards further progress.' The minister added, "It is no secret to anyone in the world that there are strong and solid bonds of cooperation between the Pales tinian and Jordanian peoples, which were one of the forms of efforts made by the Kingdom to stop the aggression and genocide against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, which breaks the hearts of the Jordanians and all the free people of the world." The Northern Minister stated that since the beginning of the Israeli aggression, the Jordanian discourse has been clear, condemning what the Israeli war machine is committing, including murder, destruction, and displacement in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, in addition to the Kingdom's efforts with international parties, to end this brutal war. He said, "The Palestinian issue, under its current circumstances and the general context, topped the Jordanian government's political, economic, social, and cultural agenda, as it constitutes the central issue in Jordan in thought, discourse, and practice. Therefore, naturally, it came to the rescue of the citizens in the Gaza Strip through airdrops of aid and convoys across the King Hussein Bridge." A relief wor ker heading from Amman to Al-Arish. He added, 'Our awareness of the harassment that people in the West Bank are subjected to, prompted us to allocate 45 thousand tons of wheat and grains through the Palestinian government, and to establish a field hospital in Nablus. The Minister stated that strengthening the economic relationship is one of the reasons for the rapprochement of countries and peoples, especially when they have commonalities, including history, culture, similar challenges and opportunities, and the aspirations of societies. Therefore, we believe that our Arab region is the most appropriate to achieve this rapprochement, most notably the specialty of each Arab country with comparative advantages that necessitate the achievement of integration. Among themselves, away from external influences. The Minister pointed out that the Kingdom is seeking to overcome this reality, whether through the frameworks of the League of Arab States by supporting mechanisms to enhance joint Arab cooperation, or at the level of bilateral and multilateral relations, such as establishing companies and joint projects, and linking energy projects, pointing to striving in this direction and so that we can, with Palestine, To enhance bilateral trade exchanges, which range about $400 million, and to establish joint projects in various fields to strengthen the Palestinian economy. The Minister stressed the importance of facilitating trade exchanges and establishing partnerships between Jordanian and Palestinian business owners, as it is an economic priority for both countries, especially if there is determination and ability to achieve this complementarity. The Minister stated that the joint meetings are characterized by a spirit of brotherhood and express our sincere endeavor and the abundant effort exerted by the members of the technical committee from both sides, to reach constructive recommendations that will be submitted to the prime ministers of both countries. Source: Maan News Agency