The activities of the third session of the joint Jordanian-Tunisian Business Council, held remotely between the Jordanian Businessmen Association and the Confederation of Tunisian Citizen Enterprises (CONECT). To discuss strengthening Jordanian-Tunisian economic relations in various fields and finding ways to develop bilateral relations between the two countries and finding new horizons to enhance economic cooperation and establish joint investment projects, in addition to discussing axes and opportunities for joint investment in the two countries and the mechanism for developing joint integrated industries and tourism integration between the two countries, in the presence of elite from businessmen on both sides.
Speaking at the opening session, Mr. Youssef Al-Shamali, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply, stressed the importance of holding this session, especially in light of the pandemic, in order to unify national efforts and raise the level of relations between Jordan and Tunisia, stressing that the meeting constitutes an important framework for interaction, dialogue and meeting businessmen in order to increase investment and trade exchange.
Al-Shamali also indicated that Jordan and Tunisia are bound by a number of joint agreements, the most important of which is the Agadir Agreement, but despite that the volume of trade exchange is still below the level of ambitions, it did not exceed 25 million dollars in 2019 and even in 2020, the numbers are still low.
Al-Shamali stressed the importance of overcoming the obstacles facing the flow of exports and imports and raising the volume of trade exchange, expressing his hope that joint investment projects would be established between the two sides.
For his part, Mr. Musa Shehadeh, Vice Chairman of the JBA Board of Directors, indicated that the work of the council held today includes the two most important axes during this important stage in light of the exceptional circumstances imposed by the Corona pandemic, which are tourism integration between the two countries and benefiting from the agreements and neighboring countries that Jordan and Tunisia have in order to jointly enter those important markets.
Shehadeh stressed that the Jordanian-Tunisian relations are witnessing a remarkable development in various fields, but the mutual investment is still below the required level, despite the presence of many investment opportunities in the two countries through which real partnerships can be created.
In turn, Mr. Tariq Al-Sharif, President of the Confederation of Tunisian Citizen Enterprises(CONECT) indicated that there are many common denominators that bring together the Jordanian and Tunisian economy, which constitute a great opportunity for both sides to advance economic and investment relations, pointing out that the pandemic has stood in the way of achieving many plans developed by the Jordanian-Tunisian Business Council in Its second session, which was held in 2019, expressed his hope to complete the implementation of the plans that have been set in the near future, according to an economic calendar.
The council’s work included two sessions. The first session discussed opportunities for partnership in reconstruction projects in Iraq and Libya, during which Mr. Ahmed Al-Kurdi, a member of JBA spoke about the importance of stimulating the construction sector and enhancing prospects for joint cooperation between the two sides in this sector, especially that strengthening this sector and its development will contribute In stimulating many other sectors and revitalizing supply chains.
Al-Kurdi stressed the importance of cooperation between civil society institutions and official and non-official institutions in the field of reconstruction through creating job opportunities and investment projects that contribute to facilitating the reconstruction process and opening markets and making them accessible to products from both countries.
The participants discussed a number of topics of interest to the business sector on both sides, in addition to presenting a number of proposals aimed at strengthening joint investment, trade and economic relations, the most important of which is the emphasis on the importance of moving towards establishing a maritime line between Jordan and Tunisia that facilitates the process of goods access and cooperation with the responsible authorities to provide infrastructure and superstructure. In addition to emphasizing the existence of many investment opportunities, especially in the field of fertilizers and phosphates, as well as in the fields of manufacturing and exporting olive oil, and the fields of the pharmaceutical industry and the tourism sector.