The UAE–Jordan–Egypt’s industrial $10 billion partnership, signed last week, is
not a simple deal. It is a real shift in paradigm at Arab and regional levels.
اضافة اعلان
The tripartite
agreement involves a $10 billion investment fund managed by Abu Dhabi’s
Developmental Holding Company. The three partners will work jointly to invest
the funds in food, agriculture, fertilizers, pharmaceuticals, textiles,
minerals, petrochemicals, metals, and other key fields.
According to The National, a daily newspaper
published in Abu Dhabi: “The new initiative will establish large joint
industrial projects, create job opportunities, contribute to increasing
economic output, diversify the economies of the three countries, support
industrial production, and increase exports.”
The deal has drifted from the conventional
rhetoric about Arab integration into a more realistic approach that seeks a
win-win situation where each partner has something to offer and many benefits
to gain, an approach worth celebrating.
Regardless of their difference in size, Jordan
and Egypt share common untapped potentials, resources, human talent, and a dire
need to move into the future confidently to secure a better life for their
populations. The UAE is a reliable partner willing to invest in several places
globally, as long as the investment is feasible. The UAE is also known for
extending a helping hand to friends and neighbors.
A more pragmatic approach will take the Arab world into a new era where we eat what we grow, dress what we make
The media are also celebrating the tripartite
deal. Middle East 24 News English tilted an analysis with “Egypt, the Emirates
and Jordan: The dream of Arab integration is nearing realization,” concluding
that “joint Arab action is witnessing a great awakening, the results of which
appear in the tripartite partnership agreement between Egypt, the Emirates and
Jordan in the industrial field, which serves the peoples of the region and
encourages more Arab countries to enter into this partnership to achieve Arab
integration.”
A focal point for this agreement is that
experts have placed an urgency on increasing the production of food in the
short and long term, including wheat, barley, and corn — a strategy that Jordan
and every country must follow. This strategy is especially important as
communities globally are bracing for food shortages amid increasing disruptions
in the global supply chain in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis and the
fierce war between Russia and Ukraine — which jointly produce a quarter of the
world’s wheat.
As the three Arab partners move to prove the
new concept, illustrating genuine strategic thinking, Arab people can now dream
of expanding the deal to include as many Arab countries as possible. This
expansion can ensure resources are wisely invested and, thus, reflect
positively on the living standards of every Arab individual, and consequently,
every stakeholder becomes a winner.
This is not wishful thinking. This simple
shift in thought and the adoption of a more pragmatic approach will take the
Arab world into a new era where we eat what we grow, dress what we make, and
operate our factories by relying more on renewable energy resources.
Let us all translate Arab economic integration
into a tangible reality. The tripartite deal is a win-win fact for such a
long-awaited dream.
The writer is a former advisor at the Royal Hashemite
Court, a former director of media and communication at the Office of His
Majesty King Abdullah, and works currently as a senior advisor for business
development at Al-Ghad and Jordan News.
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