Amman, Istanbul take steps towards 'total commercial cooperation'

AMMAN — During an official visit to Turkey, the board of directors of the Amman Chamber of Trade on Tuesday inaugurated a new phase of total cooperation with the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce, to enhance bilateral commercial ties.

The board of directors agreed with their counterparts from Istanbul over several points of collaboration, including holding a Jordanian week in Turkey in 2020 to promote the Kingdom to investors and economic delegations, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra. 

The two chambers also made plans to launch an electronic platform to exchange information and cooperate on issues of entrepreneurship, Arabic language instruction and obtaining scholarships. 

The board called for activating a memorandum of understanding signed by the two chambers in July 2019, particularly in terms of expertise and information exchange as well as the training of employees. 

The board also called on businesspeople to increase investments in the Kingdom and utilise e-commerce channels between the two countries. 

The Amman Chamber of Trade, headed by Khaleel Haj Tawfiq, and the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce agreed to continue pursuing a free trade agreement, Petra reported. 

Haj Tawfiq said that an invitation was presented to the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce to send a delegation including their board of directors, businesspeople, industry people and merchants to visit the Kingdom and learn about available investment opportunities and tourist sites, in cooperation with the Amman Chamber of Trade. 

He also presented an invitation to the Business Development Complex general manager  to visit Jordan to help the Kingdom benefit from Turkish experience through the chamber’s entrepreneurship department.

Haj Tawfiq noted that the two chambers have agreed to enhance direct communication through employee visits and exchange of information, and to study mechanisms to increase Turkish tourism to Jordan. 

During a visit to the Istanbul Commerce University campus, the board reached an agreement with the university to grant the Amman Chamber of Trade several discounts and scholarships and establish a liaison office for the university in the chamber’s building in Amman.