Chairman of the Jordanian Businessmen Association (JBA) Hamdi Taba’a discussed on Sunday with the Tunisian Ambassador to the Kingdom, Khaled Suhaili, ways of enhancing joint trade and investment relations and the role of private sector institutions in this regard.
During the meeting, the two sides stressed the importance of discussing ways to develop prospects for joint cooperation in various economic sectors and to address obstacles that decrease the volume of trade exchange.
They also stressed the importance of focusing on the key economic sectors of common concern, especially agriculture, food industries, health care, pharmaceutical industries and renewable energy.
Taba’a called on the Tunisian business community to review Jordan’s investment opportunities and the incentives offered to business sectors in this regard, referring to the opportunities recently announced by the Investment Commission.
According to a JBA press release, Taba’a pointed out the joint Jordanian-Tunisian Business Council that links the JBA with the Confederation of Tunisian Citizen Entrprises, “Connect” is keen to activate its action plan during 2020.
Tunisian days will be held in Amman next June, simultaneous with Jordanian activities in Tunisia to showcase Jordanian products and industries, he noted.
Suhaili, for his part, said the volume of joint trade exchange “falls shorts of ambitions,” stressing the importance of benefiting from trade deals that link the two countries, especially the two agreements of the Greater Arab Trade Area and the Arab Mediterranean Free Trade Area Free Trade (Agadir).
The envoy affirmed Tunisian embassy’s readiness to cooperate with the JBA to help strengthen bilateral relations in economic fields and build “real” strategic partnerships.
The Kingdom’s exports to Tunisia amounted to approximately $11 million in 2018, compared to $18 million in imports.