Amman – Brazil wants to speed up the negotiation of a free trade agreement between the Mercosur and Jordan. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said, at a business seminar between both countries, on Thursday (18), in Amman, that this should be one of the priorities of the Brazilian presidency of the South American bloc in the second half. Brazilian and Jordanian businessmen crowded the hall to hear Lula’s address.
"Further exchange and more investment, that is our answer to the International crisis and to the threat of protectionism. For this reason, it is essential to advance in negotiations for a free trade agreement between the Mercosur and Jordan. Consolidating interconnected economic spaces we will be joining forces to revert global deceleration,” said the president.
According to Lula, with "flexibility and pragmatic spirit, we may expand the access to goods and service markets, respecting sensitive areas on both sides.” The Foreign Minister of Brazil, Celso Amorim said, in a press conference, that a meeting took place between both parties in 2008, and another should take place in April, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
"We want to sign this agreement while in the presidency of the Mercosur, before the end of the year,” said Amorim. Government sources heard by ANBA, however, said it should be hard to complete in such a short period of time, as consensus is necessary among the four members of the Mercosur: Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay.
The Foreign Minister stated, however, that he does not see difficulties in the process, as “Jordan is a very open economy” and added that negotiations for a similar agreement between the Mercosur and Egypt have been advancing rapidly. The proposal of the agreement with Egypt, however, was launched in 2005.
Amorim mentioned some sectors in which there are perspectives for expansion of business, like agribusiness and construction. Jordan has a series of large-scale projects to be executed, among them the transposition of the waters of the Red Sea to supply the Dead Sea, which is drying. On the route, mills would desalinate water and generate electricity. He also spoke about the energy sector.
The foreign minister also added that the president discussed bilateral cooperation in the areas of economics, science and technology, agriculture and tourism with Jordanian king Abdullah II, as well as participation of Brazilian companies in the project for transposition of the Red Sea.
Lula pointed out that ties with the Arab countries have been among the priorities of his government, and in the case of Jordan there was a tenfold increase in trade. "We want Jordan to be a privileged ally of Brazil in this strategy,” he said.
He pointed out, however, that there should not be expansion of economic relations without an effort by the private sector and defended the realisation of other business meetings.
The prime minister of Jordan, Samir Rifai, said that King Abdullah II also wants to improve economic relations. “We are determined to make this vision reality,” he said. He also said that attraction of investment is the Jordanian government’s priority as a tool to guarantee the sustainable development of the country.
Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce president Salim Taufic Schahin recalled that last year, while travelling to Jordan, he proposed the establishment of a bilateral business council and said he hopes the visit by Lula may help "speed up this initiative".
He also pointed out that the Chamber has been working on promoting tourism in the Arab countries, and Jordan is currently one of the main destinations in focus.
*Translated by Mark Ament
