Indian-Jordanian trade up by 60% in 2022, says envoy

AMMAN — The trade volume between Jordan and India reached $2.716 billion in 2022, recording an “exceptional” year-on-year growth of 60.13 percent, said Indian ambassador to Amman Anwar Halim, indicating that the two countries have set a trade target of $5 billion to reach by 2025.اضافة اعلان

"Since the first trade agreement signed between the two countries in 1960, several agreements have followed to date, enhancing our economic cooperation," the ambassador said in an interview with the Jordan News Agency, Petra, on the occasion of his country's Republic Day, which falls on January 26 every year.

Halim stressed that bilateral trade has grown rapidly despite the global economic downturn, with India emerging as Jordan’s fourth largest trading partner in 2021.

The Indian-Jordanian relationship has been an “ascendant partnership” that continues to grow unabated even during the difficult times of COVID-19 and the global economic crisis.

Sector partnershipsRegarding the volume of Indian investments in Jordan, he pointed out that his country’s investments in phosphates and textiles amount to more than $1.3 billion, where the Jordan Phosphate Mines Company (JPMC) and the Indian Farmers Fertilizers Cooperative have established a joint venture project worth $860 million for manufacturing phosphoric acid.

The JPMC and the Arab Potash Company have signed memoranda of understanding and agreements with a number of Indian fertilizer companies and manufacturers worth $2.5 billion, he added.

Meanwhile, "over 15 garment companies owned by Indians, with a cumulative investment of around $500 million, are located in the (Kingdom’s) Qualified Industrial Zones. All finished products are exported outside Jordan, which amounts to more than one billion dollars’ worth of garments," the envoy said.

Shared values, deepening exchangeCommending bilateral relations, Halim said that India considers Jordan an important partner in the region: "Both our countries are committed to multilateralism, share common concerns in international fora, and strive for global peace and stability.”

“Our exchanges and interactions have diversified in terms of depth, substance, and content in recent years," he noted.

"It is worth mentioning that our relationship has been an ascendant partnership that continues to grow unabated even during the difficult times of COVID-19 and the global economic downturn,” he said. “Today, our ties cover a wide range of areas, including political cooperation, trade and investment, technology, culture, health, agri-commodities, textiles, chemicals and fertilizers, defense and security, development partnership, and so on."

In view of the continued momentum marked by regular high-level interactions, reinforced by meetings of His Majesty King Abdullah and the Indian Prime Minister, the ambassador predicted a “bright” India-Jordan partnership, noting: "We look forward to further strengthening and diversifying our closeness in the coming years."

Education, development exchangeIn terms of joint educational, cultural, and technical cooperation, Halim pointed to the India-Jordan Center of Excellence in Information Technology (IJ-CoEIT), a state-of-the-art IT facility established by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates and fully funded by the Indian government.

"It is envisioned that 3,000 Jordanian experts and professionals would be nurtured at the center over a span of five years,” the envoy said.

Under this participative model, India’s government is sponsoring training programs for 150 master trainers from Jordan at premium institutes of technology in India, who in turn would be imparting further training to Jordanian youth using the facilities at the IJ-CoEIT, thus making the center completely managed by Jordanian expertise, he added.

The envoy also stressed that India is committed to sharing its developmental experience with Jordan through capacity-building programs under the India Technical and Economic Cooperation program, which is an avenue for strengthening the contact between the two countries' citizens.

The Indian Council for Cultural Relations offered five annual scholarships to Jordanian students for higher education in India during the last year, he noted, highlighting that there are over 500 Jordanian students studying in different universities in India.

The total number of Jordanian alumni of Indian universities stands at over 2,500, he said, noting that the India-Jordan Alumni Association was launched in August 2022 as a forum bringing together distinguished Jordanian alumni members who graduated from prominent universities in India.

Responding to a question about the Indian community in Jordan, the official mentioned that 15,500 Indians reside in Jordan, working in textile, construction, manufacturing, and fertilizer companies, the healthcare sector, universities, IT, finance, and multilateral organizations.

Global, regional issuesRegarding cooperation in the field of counterterrorism, Halim said that India is an active participant in the Aqaba process, emphasizing the importance of the process in facilitating regular and comprehensive dialogue on counterterrorism among global stakeholders.

On the Palestinian issue, the envoy said: "India highly appreciates the constructive role and the diplomatic efforts by Jordan, led by His Majesty, to find a peaceful solution to the Palestine issue."

"India’s ties with the friendly people of Palestine are rooted in our common history. We have always supported the Palestinian people in their pursuit of economic and social development with dignity and self-reliance,” he said. “We are hopeful that direct talks between the Palestinian and Israeli sides will resume to find a comprehensive and negotiated solution."

India has also been at the forefront of extending developmental assistance to Palestine over the years, he stressed, indicating that "our flagship projects such as India-Palestine Techno Park, Palestine National Printing Press, and four schools are already functional, while other projects, including the Palestine Diplomatic Academy, Women Empowerment Center (Turathi), and a super-speciality hospital are under implementation.”

“We have substantially enhanced our contribution to UNRWA in recent years to strengthen its hands for humanitarian activities," the ambassador noted.

India’s G-20 presidencyIndia has assumed the Presidency of the G-20, Halim said, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasizing that the South Asian nation’s leadership will be inclusive, ambitious, decisive, and action-oriented.

"The theme of our G20 Presidency, ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’, symbolizes hope and our goal to bring the world together for global good to shape a new paradigm — of human-centric globalization," he noted.

"Over the past years, India’s growth story has been exceptional, including in the fields of agricultural production, nuclear and space technology, affordable health care, world-class educational institutions, and biotechnology — to becoming an IT power and having the third-largest start-up ecosystem in the world," he noted.

India has emerged as the fastest-growing major economy in the world, the envoy highlighted, saying: "It is expected to be one of the top three economic powers in the world over the next 10-15 years. We are sincere that all our friendly countries would share this enhanced prosperity and fruits of our development."


Read more Business
Jordan News