Gulf-Jordanian Economic Forum turns focus to food security 

AMMAN — The Gulf-Jordanian Economic Forum has issued a recommendation for Jordan and member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to focus on food security, as well as to establish a green agricultural path to facilitate the flow of goods between both sides.

The Amman-held forum also highlighted the importance of exchanging expertise and technology in the field of agriculture, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

The forum also recommended that Jordan be accredited as a strategic and regional observatory for food security in order to mitigate the impact of crises, serve the countries of the region and provide an infrastructure for emergency supplies.

Jordan Chamber of Commerce (JCC) Chairman Nael Kabariti on Wednesday said that the forum drew attention to the advantages of e-commerce, and also called for more meetings and deals to maintain communication. The forum also recommended an increase in sharing technology in order to increase investments. 

Kabariti added that the forum encouraged investments in promising Jordanian sectors, most notably in tourism, medical tourism, mining, financing, banking, logistics, infrastructure, and agriculture. The forum also leveraged Jordan's government incentives, such as trade deals, modern laws, tax breaks, and custom exemptions, he said.

The forum also recommended that steps be made to enhance women's economic participation by signing memorandums of understanding between Jordanian and Gulf businesswomen and by establishing an online communication platform for young entrepreneurs.

Kabariti highlighted the forum's calls related to the creation of a business incubator to oversee the initiatives of Jordanian and Gulf businesspeople. 

He also noted that the forum recommended the establishment of a consulting firm that would review proposals from Arab youth, facilitate transport between the two parties and create an online platform to share investment and economic opportunities and events.

The forum called on the governments of both sides to move forward with interconnection projects, especially those related to joint transport to help improve trade exchange and cut costs. 

It also called for the establishment of an investment system based on the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model.

Under the title “New Aspects for Economic and Investment Cooperation", the two-day event was organised by the Jordan Chamber of Commerce, in cooperation with the Federation of the Gulf Cooperation Council Chambers.