Ammon – The Amman Chamber of Commerce and the Iraqi Embassy in the Kingdom agreed to open the Iraqi Trade Center at the Chamber’s headquarters before the end of this year.
The head of the Amman Chamber of Commerce, Khalil Al-Haj Tawfiq, confirmed during his meeting with the Minister Plenipotentiary and Chargé d’Affairs at the Iraqi Embassy to the Kingdom, Munif Ali Hussein, that Iraq is a trade partner and an important artery for the national economy, which requires building new rules for cooperation between the two brotherly countries based on mutual interests to reach the desired economic integration.
He pointed out that the opening of the center will allow Jordanian, Arab and foreign businessmen, contractors and investors to view the investment opportunities and bids offered by the Iraqi government in the sectors of housing, roads, infrastructure, information technology, finance, banking, industry and others.
Al-Hajj Tawfiq indicated that the center will provide Jordanian companies with the opportunity to see Iraqi industries and agricultural products that the local market needs, which will be reflected in the trade exchanges of the two countries and pave the way for building joint economic partnerships.
For his part, Hussein affirmed his country’s interest in opening the center at the Chamber’s headquarters before the end of this year, which will have a great impact in promoting the commercial and investment opportunities available in the Iraqi economy and stimulating the Jordanian commercial sector to benefit from them, expressing his thanks to Amman Trade for hosting his temporary headquarters.
In turn, the First Vice-President of the Chamber, Nabil Al-Khatib, stressed the need to review the transit trade file between the two countries, so that the port of Aqaba will return to the main artery for Iraqi imports, as it was in previous years.
For his part, the Iraqi commercial attaché in Amman, Nabil al-Karbouli, pointed out the necessity of providing various facilities to Iraqi investors in Jordan and expediting clearance procedures on the borders between the two countries.
The meeting was attended by a member of the Chamber’s board of directors, Falah Al-Saghir, and its general manager, Hisham Dweik.
It is noteworthy that national exports to Iraq amounted during the first half of this year to 261 million dinars, compared to 74 million dinars for imports.