Japanese businessmen mull investment in Kingdom

AMMAN – His Majesty King Abdullah on Tuesday started a working visit to Japan with a meeting with CEOs and representatives of Japanese economic and financial institutions. 

In two separate meetings, discussions covered Jordan's investment environment, and the privileges and incentives it offers to investors on the backdrop of the high degree of stability and skilled manpower the Kingdom enjoys, a Royal Court statement said. 

During his meeting with President of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Akihiko Tanaka, King Abdullah voiced his appreciation of the agency's ongoing efforts to support development and economic programmes in Jordan, especially in the fields of water, tourism, health, education and construction. 

He called for fostering cooperation between JICA and different local institutions through exploring new areas of partnership to boost the sustainable development process and contribute to job creation, particularly for the youth. 

The King also commended the agency's support for Jordan in areas related to women’s and youth empowerment through dispatching experts and volunteers to the Kingdom as part of expertise exchanges and training. 

He stressed the importance of such projects in enhancing the competence of Jordanians working in various vital sectors. 

The Monarch and JICA chief also discussed the latest regional developments and the impact of the Syrian crisis on Jordan, which hosts a large number of Syrian refugees and the burden this imposes on the Kingdom’s already limited resources. 

For his part, Tanaka expressed the agency’s commitment to expanding its programmes in Jordan, noting that the agency deems Jordan a “vital” partner in achieving development goals it seeks to realise in the areas targeted by its services.

He stressed that JICA will continue providing all means of financial and technical support to Jordan, especially to enable it to continue its role in serving Syrian refugees.  

In an interview with the Jordan News Agency, Petra, the Japanese official said his meeting with the King was “very significant for the agency”, noting that JICA is currently implementing projects in Jordan to improve the water supply in communities hosting Syrian refugees.

Meanwhile, the Monarch met with Chairman of NIPPON Export and Investment Insurance Agency Kazuhiko Bando, President of Japan External Trade Organisation Satoshi Miyamoto and Executive Director of Japan Bank for International Development Koichi Yajima.

His Majesty called for boosting partnership between Jordanian and Japanese institutions and building on cooperation agreements the two countries have signed, especially in economic, trade and investment areas. 

He highlighted the factors that made Jordan an important investment “incubator” and a gateway into regional and international markets.

King Abdullah called on representatives of Japanese companies and investment groups to seize the opportunities offered by the Jordanian economy in the renewable energy and waste management sectors, in addition to railways, environment, water and ICT. 

Underscoring the importance of the public-private sector partnership, the King noted that Jordan looks at the private sector as a key partner in investment and development processes.

For their part, the heads of the three corporations commended Jordan’s efforts in creating an attractive investment climate and offering competitive incentives to the investors, highlighting their keenness to examine business opportunities in Jordan, according to the statement.