ACC chief calls for more Jordan-Cyprus trade exchange

AMMAN — Amman Chamber of Commerce's (ACC) board of directors and Pafos Mayor Phedon Phedonos on Tuesday discussed ways to develop commercial and investment relations between Jordan and Cyprus at the private sector level.

At a meeting, held at the ACC headquarters, both sides discussed the possibility of signing a cooperation agreement between ACC and its peer in Pafos on the sidelines of a scheduled visit of the Cypriot president to Jordan next month.

They also discussed marketing Jordanian products and services in Cyprus to enhance the trade exchange volume, especially that the Kingdom has several goods of high quality and technical standards, in addition to discussing cooperation in the fields of energy and natural gas.

ACC President Issa Murad called for increasing the trade exchange volume between the two countries, noting that Jordan's imports from Cyprus during the first seven months of this year stood at JD6 million, while the Kingdom's exports to the European island were very little.

Jordan has several products and services that can cover the needs of the Cypriot market, such as medicines, phosphate, potash, fertilisers and Dead Sea products, he noted.

The ACC president also called for establishing joint investment projects, stressing that the Kingdom's political and security stability enhances investors' trust in the business environment, which provides a lot of incentives for businesspeople. 

Phedonos noted that there are a lot of Jordanian investors in Pafos and they enjoy all necessary support and facilities, stressing the importance of attracting investors from Pafos to Jordan to have mutual relations with reciprocal benefits. 

It is essential for Jordan and Pafos to sign an agreement to avoid dual taxation, noting that his city is a signatory to such agreements with 55 countries, the city mayor added.

He also referred to a visit by a Cypriot business delegation to the Kingdom on November 9, in synchronisation with the Cypriot president visit, to hold meetings with Jordanian counterparts to enhance commercial exchange between the two countries.