Jordan, Iraqi business liaison office to address outstanding issues

AMMAN — The Jordanian-Iraqi Business Council on Tuesday decided to set up a joint office in both countries to coordinate the work of the council, form an arbitration committee and move forward with legal procedures necessary for that. 

The office will work under the umbrella of the Jordan Chamber of Commerce (JCC) and the Federation of Iraqi Chambers of Commerce (FICC), the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

During a meeting held at the JCC offices, the two sides agreed to expand the council’s jurisdiction through listing more representatives of vital sectors from Jordan and Iraq, revisiting the council's by-law and forming a joint committee.

Attendees agreed to hold the next council meeting in Baghdad in October.

They also highlighted the importance for Jordanian companies to take part in housing projects in Iraq, and to be active in the logistic zone at the Jordanian-Iraqi border area, urging the establishment of more land ports to facilitate the flow of goods.

JCC President Nael Kabariti called for deploying effective tools to stimulate commercial exchange and remove any restrictions or obstacles that hinder the flow of merchandise between the two neighbours.

President of the Jordan Chamber of Industry Adnan Abul Ragheb said it was vital to reopen the border crossing in order to improve investment relations between businesspeople in both countries and addresst  high prices of Jordanian products on the Iraqi market, which resulted from high transportation fees due to transit through Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

Maj. Gen. Sami Sudani, director general of the Iraqi border crossings, stressed that reopening the Turaibil-Karameh border crossing between Iraq and Jordan is now a matter of time after finishing procedures of securing the road linking the border and Baghdad.

Sudani confirmed a statement by Iraqi Ambassador to Jordan Safia Talib Al Suhail, who said late March that the border crossing was due to reopen in two to four months. She said that the Iraqi Cabinet had tasked a company with ensuring the security of the international road connecting Baghdad with Jordan through the crossing.

FICC President Jafar Hamdani highlighted both governments’ interest to boost economic ties towards a full-fledged strategic partnership.