(MENAFN- Jordan News Agency)

Amman, November 15 (Petra) –Pakistan Ambassador to Jordan, Muhammad Ajmal Iqbal, said Jordanian-Pakistani relations are "rooted" in the bonds of common faith, shared history, and cultural affinity.
In remarks to "Petra," Iqbal added that bilateral ties are characterized by mutual respect, policy convergence on key regional issues, and a spirit of solidarity anchored in our common Islamic heritage.
With the formal diplomatic relations established in 1948, he noted Pakistan-Jordan relations have graduated over the years, to a multi-dimensional and forward-looking partnership, encompassing political dialogue, enhanced defence collaboration, increasing economic and trade relations, cultural linkages and people-to-people contacts, as well as continued cooperation at different multilateral fora.
Under the visionary leadership of both His Majesty King Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein and the leadership of Pakistan, he stated the relationship between Pakistan and Jordan today stands on the cusp of strategic maturity.
This valued partnership between our two brotherly countries is set to transform into tangible frameworks of regional cooperation and socio-economic development, he pointed out.
Iqbal said: "It would not be out of place to indicate some major landmarks achieved in recent years in different domains of our bilateral relations and the manner in which these contacts are being carried forward."
In the political and diplomatic domain, for instance, he noted high level exchanges have picked up pace between the two countries in recent years.
This demonstrates the mutual level of confidence between the leadership of both countries. As an instance, Prime Minister of Pakistan, H.E. Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif met His Majesty King Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein on the sidelines of the Gaza Peace Summit held in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt on 13 October 2025, he remarked.
Earlier, in September 2025, ahead of the Arab-Islamic Summit in New York, Prime Minister H.E. Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, met His Majesty King Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein along with Emir of Qatar and Indonesia's President, he said.
The diplomat indicated that Prime Minister of Pakistan H.E. Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif also met His Majesty King Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein on the sidelines of the Emergency Arab-Islamic Summit held on 16 September 2025 in Doha (Qatar).
"Ministerial level exchanges between Pakistan and Jordan have been a regular feature of our dynamic relationship. In June 2024, Deputy Prime Minister/Foreign Minister of Pakistan H.E. Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar attended the high-level conference 'Call for Action: Urgent Humanitarian Response for Gaza' held in Jordan," he said.
In 2025, he announced three major Ministerial level visits were undertaken from Pakistan to Jordan. Dr. Mukhtar Ahmad Malik, Minister of State for National Health Services, Regulations & Coordination of Pakistan visited Jordan from 7-9 October 2025 to attend the 8th Session of the Islamic Conference of Health Ministers held in Amman.
On the sidelines of the above event, the Minister of State for National Health Services, Regulations & Coordination held a bilateral meeting with Dr. Ibrahim Mahfooz Atallah Albdour, Minister of Health, Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, in Amman on 08 October 2025, he pointed out.
Federal Minister, Board of Investment of Pakistan, Qaiser Ahmed Shaikh visited Jordan to attend the second edition of "Invest in Digital Economy Forum" held on 22 September 2025 in Amman.
On the sidelines of the event, he met his Jordanian counterpart Dr. Tareq Ali Abu Ghazaleh; as well as leadership of Amman Chamber of Commerce. Minister for IT and Telecommunication of Pakistan Shaza Fatima Khawaja visited Jordan on 18-19 February 2025 to attend the 4th General Assembly of the Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO). On the sidelines, she met Jordanian Minister of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship Sami Smeirat.
Pakistan and Jordan, he noted, have an institutional mechanism of bilateral political consultations between their respective Ministries of Foreign Affairs, to review the current state of political and diplomatic relations between the two countries. In this context, the second session of Pakistan-Jordan Bilateral Political Consultations was held in April 2025 in Amman. During the meeting, the entire spectrum of Pakistan-Jordan relations was reviewed from a holistic and strategic standpoint.
In the domain of defence collaboration, he said the two countries have the mechanism of Pakistan-Jordan Defence Collaboration Committee. Its 28th session was held in Amman in July 2025. The two countries have robust defence sector cooperation.
There have also been high-level military exchanges between the two brotherly countries in recent years. For example, on 25-27 October 2025, Pakistan's Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir visited Jordan, he remarked.
Chief of the Naval Staff of the Pakistan Navy, Admiral Naveed Ashraf, visited Jordan from 21-25 April 2025. General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee visited Jordan in December 2023. From Jordanian side, Maj. Gen. Yousef Ahmed Al-Hunaiti, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff, Jordan Armed Forces (JAF) visited Pakistan from 28-30 April 2025.
In domain of economic and trade relations, he said the trade delegations between Pakistan and Jordan are also picking up pace. In 2024, a delegation of Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) visited Amman. From Jordan's side, a representative of the Jordan Chamber of Commerce, participated in the Digital Foreign Investment Forum held in Islamabad (Pakistan) from 29-30 April 2025.
A Jordanian trade delegation attended the Health, Engineering and Minerals Show (HEMS) 2025 held from 17-19 April 2025 in Lahore (Pakistan). A Jordanian delegation also participated in TEXPO 2024 held in Pakistan, he said.
The institutional mechanisms related to economic and trade sectors between Pakistan and Jordan have also been reactivated in recent years. In August 2025, the second meeting of the Agriculture Steering Committee (ASC), was held in virtual format. This meeting took important decisions for improving agriculture sector cooperation between Pakistan and Jordan, he pointed out.
Additionally, he announced the long-pending Pakistan-Jordan Joint Ministerial Commission is now scheduled to take place in February 2026 in Islamabad.
As a result of these trade exchanges and other reactivated institutional linkages, he noted Pakistan-Jordan bilateral trade is already witnessing improvement. Pakistan-Jordan trade stood at US$ 51.29 million in 2024 witnessing an impressive 10.54 percent growth on year-on-year basis.
The educational, cultural and people-to-people linkages between the two countries have also picked up pace in recent years. In the education sector for instance, in September 2025, a Memorandum of Understanding was concluded between Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST) and National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Islamabad. Similarly, the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad, a renowned think tank of Pakistan has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Arab Thought Forum (ATF) in October this year.
In the domain of culture, the Embassy of Pakistan in Amman organized the Allererste (First-ever) Pakistan Film Festival in Amman in January this year to showcase the Pakistani cinema to the Jordanian audience. These are just some instances of the resilience and robustness that Pakistan-Jordan relations are witnessing.
On bilateral coordination and consultation, he said Pakistan and Jordan maintain a tradition of close coordination and constructive consultation on all issues of mutual and regional concern. Pakistan and Jordan uphold consultative diplomacy, characterized by their shared commitment to peace, stability, and moderation in the Middle East and beyond.
"This has been quite evident on the issue of Palestine for instance, especially the recent war in Gaza. On these issues, Pakistan and Jordan share similarity of position and common stance on the conflict in the Gaza strip as well as the humanitarian crisis there."
Pakistan and Jordan, he stated, have also consistently supported each other at the United Nations; Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and other multilateral platforms, reinforcing each other's positions on issues of common interest.
Pakistan and Jordan continue supporting each other's candidatures at different international fora. Jordan for instance, supported Pakistan's candidature for the non-permanent seat of the UN Security Council for the term 2025-26, he said.
Jordan also supported Pakistan's candidatures to the Human Rights Council for the term 2026-2028. Meanwhile, Pakistan extended support to Jordan for elections for the Board of Directors of Standards and Metrology Institute of Islamic Countries (SMIIC) (2025-2027) as well as Accreditation Council (2025-2027).
Pakistan also committed unconditional support to Jordan's candidature for election of Ambassador Mahmoud Daiffallah Hmoud, Permanent Representative of Jordan to the UN in New York, as Judge of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for the term 2025-2027.
On economic cooperation, he said this collaboration forms a vital component of our bilateral agenda, though there remains untapped potential in this domain. In 2024, bilateral trade between Pakistan and Jordan stood at approximately US$51.29 million. This marked an increase from US$46.40 million in 2023, representing a growth of around 10.54%.
Both sides are working to diversify their bilateral trade basket; enhance connectivity between their respective chambers of commerce, and facilitate business-to-business (B2B) linkages.
In order to enhance bilateral trade between the two countries, Embassy of Pakistan in Amman has endeavored to revitalize the existing institutional mechanisms in the trade sector as well, with the active collaboration of our Jordanian partners, he pointed out.
Historical data shows that institutionalized mechanisms, correlate strongly with trade growth between Pakistan and Jordan, increasing for instance, the Pakistan-Jordan trade from US$37 million in 2017 to over US$50 million by 2020, a nearly 35% rise in three years.
Empirical studies indicate that structured interventions like bilateral trade visits, single-country exhibitions, and participation of trade delegations in fairs typically yield annual trade increases, depending on sectoral complementarities. We are therefore making the above interventions for systematically enhancing trade between Pakistan and Jordan, he noted.
"Pakistani investors are also deeply engaged in different economic sectors of Jordan. With an estimated investment of US$ 155 million, mainly in the industrial sector of Jordan, Pakistani investors are playing and important role in contributing towards Jordan's economic growth. Pakistani investors have also made significant investments in Jordan's textile sector and have marked a huge impact on the development of this industry of Jordan."
To fully realize the untapped potential of Pakistan-Jordan trade, exploring the finalization of a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) as a precursor to a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) represents a vital strategic step. Empirical trade studies consistently show that PTAs can increase bilateral trade flows, particularly when supported by complementary sectoral strengths, such as Pakistan's textiles, pharmaceuticals, and agro-products, as well as Jordan's fertilizers, industrial goods, and chemicals. We therefore look forward to having such an agreement with the Jordanian side at an early date.
He affirmed His Majesty King Abdullah II's forthcoming visit to Pakistan represents an important landmark and will provide renewed strategic fillip to Pakistan-Jordan relations. The forthcoming visit of His Majesty King Abdullah II to Pakistan is also expected to provide a major impetus for enhanced economic engagement between the two brotherly countries.
"We look forward to exploration of new avenues for strengthening economic and trade relations between Pakistan and Jordan, through collaboration in such areas as renewable energy, IT, agriculture technology, and food security sectors, as a result of the above high-level visit. "
In the historical context, he said Pakistan-Jordan relations have always witnessed renewed vigor and robustness, connected with the high-level exchanges. As an instance, following His Majesty King Abdullah II's visits to Pakistan in 2001 and 2007, Pakistan-Jordan trade volume increased by around 40% in the subsequent three years. Following His Majesty's visit to Pakistan in 2018, bilateral trade between Pakistan and Jordan again increased from approximately US$37 million in 2017 to US$50 million by 2020. Therefore, the forthcoming high-level visit to Pakistan by His Majesty King Abdullah II is expected to yield huge strategic benefits for both our brotherly countries.
On tourism and cultural cooperation, he said this effort forms the soft power dimension of Pakistan-Jordan relationship. Both countries are home to rich civilizational legacies and spiritual heritage, attracting pilgrims and tourists alike.
"We view Jordan as a gateway to the Arab world's historical and religious continuum. Pakistan itself has a diverse cultural landscape, ranging from the Gandhara civilization to the Muslim Mughal heritage, which is a source of attraction for tourists from across the world."
"There is a growing recognition of the need to enhance people-to-people connectivity through cultural exchanges, academic linkages, and heritage diplomacy between Pakistan and Jordan. It is with this spirit that a Program for Cultural Cooperation is expected to be concluded between the two countries during the forthcoming visit of His Majesty King Abdullah II to Pakistan."
"Furthermore, we are also working on establishing an Urdu and Pakistan Studies Chair at the University of Jordan which would also serve as the academic platform for introducing Pakistani culture and history to the Jordanian students."
"For promoting art and culture, the Embassy of Pakistan in Amman has also been undertaking a number of endeavors. Its most recent examples include the organization of Allererste (First-ever) Pakistan Film Festival in Amman in January 2025 that showcased Pakistani cinema to the Jordanian public. This event was a huge success, and garnered acclaim by the Jordanian audience. "
In addition, the Embassy of Pakistan in Amman, also organized a solo exhibition "Epiphanies" by Pakistani artist Najah Rizvi in May 2024. This event also served to present the richness of work of Pakistani artists to the Jordanian art lovers, he said.
Embassy of Pakistan in Amman organized a cultural exhibit on the sidelines of Pakistan Day 2025 reception in Amman. Additionally, we have also been showcasing our cultural exhibits during the famous Diplomatic Bazaar held every year in Amman as well as international cultural events organized by different universities in Jordan. Such events and our participation therein have led to enhanced cultural linkages between our two nations.
On Jordan's role in achieving peace and stability in the region, he said Jordan, under the leadership of His Majesty King Abdullah II, has been playing a pivotal moderating role in regional geopolitics. Jordan is an anchor of stability amidst turbulence in this region. Pakistan deeply values Jordan's constructive diplomacy, which consistently emphasizes dialogue, moderation, and peaceful resolution of conflicts.
"Jordan's role throughout the recent conflict in Gaza, including in leading the coordination of humanitarian assistance for the Palestinian brethren in Gaza, is deeply appreciated by Pakistan. It was in fact, with the kind assistance of the Jordanian authorities that the Embassy of Pakistan in Amman coordinated the dispatch of around ten humanitarian assistance consignments from Pakistan for the Palestinian brethren in Gaza, through Jordan."
"Pakistan particularly admires Jordan's advocacy for interfaith harmony, counter-radicalization efforts, and its measured approach to the regional crises."
"In the broader architecture of Middle Eastern politics, Jordan remains a linchpin of balance and rationality. Pakistan stands in solidarity with Jordan's efforts to advance peace and development across the region."
As for Pakistan's position on Palestinian statehood, he said Pakistan has been, and will continue to be, committed to efforts to restore peace, justice, and dignity to the Palestinian people, as well as to ensure the realization of their right to self-determination. Pakistan has consistently supported the establishment of an independent, viable, and contiguous State of Palestine, based on the pre-1967 borders with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital, in line with relevant UN and OIC resolutions and international legitimacy.
"Pakistan strongly condemns the renewed attacks by the Israeli occupying forces in Gaza, resulting in the loss of numerous civilian lives. Such actions run contrary to the spirit of the peace agreement signed in Sharm El-Sheikh in the presence of leadership from Muslim and the Arab world, US, Europe, and the UN."
" Pakistan also strongly condemns and rejects recent statements made by the Israeli Occupying power, alluding to the creation of so-called "Greater Israel," and its designs aimed at the forcible displacement of Palestinians from Gaza."
"Pakistan urges the international community, to take urgent and effective measures to end these violations and to ensure full implementation of the ceasefire and protection of Palestinian civilians."
On the issue of Palestine, he noted Pakistan and Jordan have maintained diplomatic consultations, both bilaterally and at multilateral fora. Pakistan greatly appreciates His Majesty King Abdullah II's unwavering leadership and moral clarity on the Palestinian cause, especially his advocacy for a lasting ceasefire, humanitarian relief for Palestinian brethren and the protection of Al-Aqsa Mosque as well as other Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem.
On Jordan's humanitarian role in hosting refugees, he said Pakistan commends Jordan's extraordinary humanitarian leadership in hosting Syrian refugees and in facilitating life-saving assistance for the people of Gaza amid immense security challenges.
"Jordan's compassion, institutional preparedness, and moral resolve have made it a beacon of humanitarian diplomacy in the region. These efforts not only reflect Jordan's strong commitment to international humanitarian law and refugee protection, but also exemplify the values of Islamic solidarity and human dignity."
Pakistan, he noted, deeply appreciates the lead role played by Jordan in coordinating the humanitarian assistance for the Palestinian brethren in Gaza. It was indeed, with the kind assistance of the Jordanian authorities that the Embassy of Pakistan in Amman coordinated the dispatch of around ten humanitarian assistance consignments from Pakistan for the Palestinian brethren in Gaza, through Jordan.

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