Amman – The government of Jordan expects to see the country’s per capita GDP, currently at US$ 3,270, increase twofold by 2017. In order to attain that goal, the Jordanians are promoting a set of actions designed to attract foreign direct investment, as well as projects to develop infrastructure, education and healthcare.
Some of those initiatives were presented today (8th), to the delegation of Brazilian businessmen that is now visiting the country, by the CEO of the Jordan Investment Board (JIB), Maen Nsour. The JIB is the agency in charge of promoting foreign investment in Jordan.
The Jordanian marketing is based around advantages offered by the country, such as its political stability in a conflict-ridden region, its location, the trade agreements that it sustains with other nations and economic blocs, which enable access to different markets, and government incentives.
“We consider ourselves a gateway to the region, in particular to the markets of Iraq and Palestine,” said Nsour. Jordan touches borders with Iraq, Israel and the Palestinian territories, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and has access to the Red Sea.
According to the executive, even though it is not highly populated, with approximately six million inhabitants, due to its location and the agreements that it maintains, Jordan, has access to markets comprising over one billion people. Out of the trade agreements currently in effect, Nsour mentioned those signed with the United States, the European Union, Singapore and Canada.
He added that a new agreement should be signed with Turkey by the end of the year, a fact announced by the local press this Sunday, after a meeting was held last Saturday between the Jordanian prime minister, Nader Dahabi, and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Nsour also said that the country’s stability has made it into a hub that attracts investors from the Middle East itself, especially from the Gulf region. “The Gulf countries are still looking for investment targets, and the majority of foreign investment here comes from those countries,” he declared.
According to him, foreign investment benefiting from the Jordanian investment promotion act totalled US$ 3.2 billion in 2008, and the country expects to end 2009 with approximately US$ 3 billion.
High value
There is a demand for industries that produce high value-added goods and services, such as automobiles, electric material, energy industry equipment, pharmaceuticals, textiles, building material, cosmetics, agriculture, tourism, computing, telecommunication, healthcare and energy generation.
With regard to the energy sector, for instance, Nsour claimed that his country intends to invest heavily in alternative energy sources and nuclear technology. The aim, according to him, is that by 2020, 10% of the energy consumed in the country should come from renewable sources, such as solar and wind energy. Currently, the rate is very low.
In the nuclear sector, the executive stated that Jordan has 6% of the world’s uranium reserves, which also creates opportunities in the mining industry. The country’s first nuclear plant is scheduled to begin operating in 2015. Shale is another source that the Jordanians intend to promote.
As for infrastructure, he highlighted projects for construction of railways and the Red Sea-Dead Sea connection. According to Nsour, the Dead Sea is drying out and may disappear by 2070 if ways of supplying it with water are not found. One of the solutions is to build a canal linking it to the Red Sea. The enterprise would presumably solve the problem, in addition to making water available for human consumption, using desalination, and for power generation.
Trade
The Jordan Investment Board CEO called attention to the fact that the volume of trade between his country and Brazil is low. Brazil exported the equivalent of US$ 227 million and Jordan exported US$ 9 million in 2008. As an example of the potential for expansion of trade, he mentioned that trade with the United States went from US$ 200 million in 2002 to US$ 1.3 billion in 2008.
Jordan signed a framework agreement with the Mercosur last year to start negotiations for a free trade agreement. It should take long, however, until that goal is attained.
The president of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce, Salim Taufic Schahin, who heads the Brazilian delegation, underscored, however, that the Brazilian government has “political will” to strengthen relations with the Arab countries. He also said that the organization he presides over intends to do what it can in order to help.
The meeting was also attended by the secretary general of the Arab Brazilian Chamber, Michel Alaby, the director of the organization, Mustapha Abdouni, the first secretary of the Brazilian embassy in Amman, Rodrigo de Carvalho, the chairman of the Brazilian Defence and Security Industries Association (Abimde), Carlos Frederico de Aguiar, who is also the owner of Condor, a manufacturer of non-lethal weapons; the Embraer vice president of Client Support for the Defence and Government Segment, Ricardo Bester, the Jordanian ambassador to Brazil, Ramez Goussous, the assistant CEO of the JIB, Issa Gammoh, the person in charge of the agency’s Investment Promotion Department, Nour Al Hmoud, and the advisor to the CEO, Elias Farraj.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
