(MENAFN- The Peninsula) QNA
Doha: Within the framework of enhancing the fraternal ties and bilateral relations between Qatar and Jordan, HM King Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan paid a working visit to the country yesterday.
During a meeting yesterday evening, Amir H H Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and the Jordanian King discussed ways of promoting cooperation and ties between the two countries in various political, economic and investment fields to achieve joint aspirations of the two brotherly people.
The visit of King of Jordan enhances the process of bilateral relations, bolsters coordination and consultation between the two countries towards various issues, and opens new joint cooperation prospects.
The visit gains special significance, because it comes within a series of Arab meetings at the level of leaders, and in view of the developments concerning files and issues at Arab and international arenas, with the Palestinian cause coming at the forefront, including the constant Israeli assaults on the Palestinian people, Islamic and Christian sanctities in Jerusalem City, as well as the latest developments and repercussions of war in Ukraine.
The visit of Jordan King to the country is expected to increase coordination, communication and consultation between the two countries, with respect to various current issues and files, support and promote bilateral relations and taking them forward to better cooperation and reaction fields, in pursuit of serving the joint interests of the two countries, Arab nation and its rights and crucial issues.
The relations between Doha and Amman have been strengthened through a series of reciprocal visits made at the highest level. In this context, H H the Amir visited Jordan in March 2014, and in March 2017 to attend the 28th session of Arab summit that was convened in Amman. Amir also visited Jordan in February 2020.
HM King Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein paid numerous visits to Qatar, the latest of which were His Majesty's visit to Doha to attend the opening ceremony of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, and his visit to the country in October 2021. The Qatar-Jordanian coordination is being conducted at the highest levels, towards the critical issues of the region, including the Palestinian cause, peace process, counter-terrorism, as well as encouragement of defusing international disputes by peaceful means, supporting the rights of peoples in self-determination, non-interference in the internal affairs of other states, and cooperation with peace-loving nations.
Over many years, the relations between the State of Qatar and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan witnessed a momentum in the official reciprocal visits of ministers, senior officials, businessmen, trade and economic delegations that culminated in the signing of several bilateral agreements and memoranda of understanding that strengthen strong bilateral ties between the two brotherly countries.
These agreements and memorandums of understanding cover bilateral cooperation in the military, security, legal, customs and investment fields, and mutual protection of investments, mutual visa exemption for holders of diplomatic and private passports, media, health, culture, youth and sports sectors, air and sea transport, double taxation, municipal affairs and tourism cooperation. Aspects of cooperation and exchange of experiences between the two countries have also grown.
An indication of the specificity, depth and distinction of Qatari-Jordanian relations was the initiative of Amir in June 2018 to provide 20000 job opportunities in the State of Qatar for Jordanian youth and to invest $500 million in infrastructure and tourism projects in Jordan in order to revive the Jordanian economy and contribute to its sustainable development.
In addition to official activities, the private sector in the two countries works to enhance bilateral cooperation in various business sectors, and the two parties exchange visits on a regular basis in order to build real economic partnerships that reflect the strength of existing relations and meet the aspirations of the two brotherly peoples.
The volume of trade exchange between Qatar and Jordan amounted to about QR 624 million in 2021. The two countries looking forward to developing cooperation relations through activating the joint business council, intensifying mutual visits, and holding meetings aimed at discussing all ways to enhance joint cooperation, increase trade exchange, and advance joint economic relations. Qatar is one of the largest countries investing in Jordan, as its investments there have risen to more than $4.5bn in the sectors of real estate, hotels, tourism services, banking, health and energy.
In addition to investments in the industrial sectors and oil derivatives, of which $550m are for the Qatari private sector, and $950m are in the financial market and the Amman Stock Exchange, and the rest of the investments targeted various sectors. Qatari investments in the field of energy have expanded over the past years in several areas, most notably the Amman East Power Plant, and the project to generate electricity from photovoltaic solar cells (Shams Ma'an Power Plant), which is implemented by Nebras Power Company, a Qatari-Japanese investment that is built on an area of two million square meters.
About 15 companies wholly owned by Jordanians operate in the Qatari market, while the number of joint Qatari-Jordanian companies operating in Qatar has reached about 1550 companies, operating in a variety of sectors, most notably trade, contracting, construction, interior design, maintenance, organizing conferences, real estate brokerage, services, education, carpentry, ready-made kitchens, and others.
As for exports and imports between the two countries, they are concentrated in several sectors, as Jordan imports oils, liquefied gas, fertilizers, cement products, pipes, polyethylene and polymers from Qatar, while Qatar imports from Jordan plant products, live animals, chemical industries, medicines, vegetables, air conditioning equipment, foodstuffs, marble, phosphates, potash and medical preparations.