Jordan should adopt a single national strategy to turn itself from a corridor that goods pass through into a base for trade, logistics, manufacturing and re-export, according to a policy paper from the Politics and Society Institute.
اضافة اعلان
The paper, "Jordan on the New Regional Trade Routes," draws on a workshop the institute held on August 24 and on subsequent input from specialists in transport, trade and logistics. It sets out priority measures for the next three years as supply chains reorganise and the security of trade corridors gains weight.
Location and stability are assets, the paper argued, but neither guarantees a return unless converted into services, infrastructure and projects. The measure of success is not how much cargo crosses the country but how much of the wages, profit, tax revenue and employment stays in it.
A warning against betting on the surge
Disruption to shipping routes and shifting trade patterns with Iraq and Syria have opened opportunities, the paper said, but it cautioned against treating the increase in transit traffic as permanent. Part of it stems from regional crises and could reverse once maritime routes normalise. The paper drew a distinction between temporary flows and gains that can be sustained by making the Jordanian corridor genuinely more competitive.
It assessed Jordan's position across China's Belt and Road Initiative, the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor, Iraq's Development Road and prospective Gulf-Jordan-Syria links, recommending that each be evaluated for economic return alongside political and operational risk, with partnerships diversified and strategic flexibility preserved.
The paper also called for assessing the long-term consequences for Jordan of Israel's expanding role in regional connectivity, arguing the Kingdom should be involved early in the technical and legislative arrangements for any new corridors.
Syria, Aqaba and Jaber
On Syria, the paper identified reconstruction inputs such as cement and steel as an opening, while noting that converting the opportunity into exports depends on security, financing, infrastructure and customs procedures. Bilateral trade can grow by clearing procedural obstacles now rather than waiting for large reconstruction projects to begin.
The first operational priority is diagnosis. The paper called for identifying precisely where delays occur at the Port of Aqaba and the Jaber crossing, whether at berths, storage and handling yards, clearance, or truck exit, since each cause demands a different fix. Major expansion decisions should follow a documented diagnosis rather than precede one.
It recommended modernising inspection and clearance, widening the use of digital systems, reducing overlap between the agencies that oversee cargo movement, and deepening customs cooperation with Syria.
Manufacturing and phasing
On industry, the paper urged linking corridors to production zones and steering incentives toward activities that add local value, citing fertiliser manufacturing from phosphate and potash, and packaging and quality certification services tied to pharmaceuticals. It also called for public-private partnerships in transport, ports, storage and industrial zones, and for external agreements to be tied to defined projects, responsibilities and monitoring indicators.
Implementation should be staged. The first six months would measure transit times and costs at Aqaba and Jaber and document the causes of delay. A package to simplify clearance and inspection would follow over six to 18 months. Storage and manufacturing activity tied to identified demand would be tested in the medium term, with port expansions and rail links judged against those results and against the risk that transit traffic falls back.
The single first step, the paper concluded, is assigning one body to measure actual transit times and costs at Aqaba and Jaber and to record where delays originate and who is responsible, giving a baseline against which later reforms can be judged.
Source: Al-Ghad
