Jordan, Russia to cooperate in several sectors

AMMAN – Jordan has requested Russia to offer humanitarian and development financial assistance to the Kingdom and supply its wheat and barley needs at preferential prices, according to a statement issued by the Planning Ministry on Friday. 

Jordan annually imports around 300,000 tonnes of wheat from Russia, which represents around 24 per cent of the overall imports of the grain, as well as around 320,000 tonnes of barley, the statement said.

The request was made during a meeting of the Joint Jordanian-Russian Ministerial Committee for Development, Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation in Moscow on Friday. 

Planning Minister Ibrahim Saif and Russian Agriculture Minister Nikolai Fyodorov signed a memorandum of understanding for commercial, economic and scientific cooperation for 2014-2018, the statement said, adding that Amman and Moscow also agreed to cooperate in the energy, agriculture, tourism and transportation sectors. 

During the meeting, Jordan and Russia also agreed to increase the exports of Jordanian fruit and vegetables to the Russian market by offering 25 per cent discount on customs duty in the summer and 100 per cent exemption in winter, the ministry statement said.

The Jordanian delegation included officials from the ministries of trade, agriculture, tourism and energy.