India-Jordan partnership a force for good – ambassador

AMMAN — India and Jordan have cultivated a relationship based on mutual respect, shared values and a common vision for the future, said New Delhi’s Ambassador to Amman Anwar Halim. 

In press remarks on the occasion of India’s 77th Independence Day on Tuesday, Halim said: “Our long standing friendship has yielded significant outcomes in areas such as political, trade, investment, defence, development partnership, education, culture and people-to-people exchanges, particularly in the recent years.”

India considers Jordan an important partner in the region as the two countries strive for global peace and stability, and they are committed to multilateralism and share common concerns in international fora, the envoy said.

Both countries have diversified their exchanges and interactions in recent years, covering a wide range of areas, including political cooperation, trade and investment, technology, culture, health, fertilisers, defence and security and development partnership.

This partnership has been made possible by the strong leadership and the shared vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and His Majesty King Abdullah. In 2018, Prime Minister Modi visited Jordan and King Abdullah visited India within 20 days of their meeting. Several MoUs and agreements were signed during these visits to strengthen bilateral cooperation in a number of areas, Halim continued.

“The two countries are constantly finding new ways to cooperate and collaborate. This partnership is a force for good in the world, and it is sure to continue to grow and prosper in the years to come,” Halim said.

Touching on trade ties, the envoy said that during the financial year i.e. 2022 April – 2023 March, India-Jordan bilateral trade was valued at an all time high of $ 4.425 billion recording an exceptional growth of 63 per cent over last year. India's exports to Jordan stand at $ 2,135 million with an annual growth of 140 per cent. 

“India is a long rooted partner for Jordan in the supplies of food items, mechanical and electrical goods, engineering products, gems and jewellery, oil products and leather while Jordan is a long and reliable supplier of fertilisers, phosphates, phosphoric acid etc for India. In fact, India is the biggest single buyer of phosphates from Jordan,” the ambassador noted.

The two countries have set a trade target of $5 billion to reach by 2025 and have also agreed to further diversify the trade basket.

On the other hand, Indian investments in phosphates and textiles amount to more than $ 1.3 billion. 

Jordan Phosphate Mines Company (JPMC) and Indian Farmers Fertilisers Cooperative (IFFCO) established a joint venture project worth $860 million for manufacturing Phosphoric Acid. This was jointly inaugurated by King Abdullah and then President of India Pranab Mukherjee during the latter’s visit to Jordan in 2015.

Further, on the sidelines of Minister of Chemicals and Fertilisers Mansukh Mandviya’s visit to Jordan in May 2022, the JPMC and the Arab Potash Company signed memoranda of understanding and agreements with a number of Indian fertiliser companies and manufacturers worth $2.5 billion.

Over 15 garment companies, owned by Indians, with cumulative investment of around $500 million are located in the Qualified Industrial Zones. All finished products are exported outside Jordan which amounts to more than a billion dollars worth of garments.

“We also deeply value the love of Jordanians for Indian films, yoga, cuisine, music and culture. The Indian film industry has been showing a keen interest in capturing the beauty of Jordan on celluloid. An Indian regional language movie was filmed in Jordan in March-April 2020 in the midst of the COVID pandemic,” the ambassador said.

Regarding the Indian community in Jordan, the ambassador noted that over 17,000 Indians reside in Jordan. 

“Jordan has been a gracious and diligent host to them. They are primarily employed in textile, construction, manufacturing, fertiliser companies, healthcare sector, universities, IT, finance and multilateral organisations,” he added. 

As for co-operation in the field of counter terrorism, he noted that both India and Jordan face the common threat of terrorism and extremism and the two countries have been active partners in collaborating on initiatives on counter-terrorism cooperation. 

“India is an active participant of the Aqaba Process and we greatly appreciate the importance of the Aqaba Process in facilitating regular, comprehensive dialogue on counter-terrorism among global stakeholders,” the ambassador said. 

India will host the G-20 summit in September of this year under the theme, “One Earth, One Family, One Future”, he added. 

The 77th Independence day also marks the culmination of two years long celebration of “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav” (AKAM), an initiative launched to celebrate 75 years of India's independence. 

“Further, as we celebrate India's independence and progress, we are sincere to share the fruits of our development with our close partners. In this regard, I am hopeful of the promising avenues that lie ahead for our bilateral relationship with Jordan.”