Industry, trade and supply minister starts meetings with Belgian counterpart

AMMAN — Industry, Trade and Supply Minister Maha Ali said Tuesday that Jordan works on enhancing economic partnerships with different countries through free trade agreements in order to contribute to increasing exports and stimulating investments in the Kingdom.

She was speaking at the start of bilateral meetings with her Belgian counterpart Cécile Jodogne, organised by the Amman Chamber of Commerce. Ali said Jordanian exports to Belgium are still modest, standing at $12 million during 2014 whereas imports were worth $223 million, which indicates the need for more Jordanian exports, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Jordan succeeded in achieving significant progress during the past 15 years under the leadership of His Majesty King Abdullah, Ali added, noting that legal, administrative and judiciary reforms were conducted intensively with a special focus on business environment.

The result of those policies is obvious from the increase of the gross domestic product significantly from $8.5 billion in 2000 to $35.8 billion in 2014 as well as other indications, Ali continued, referring to the Jordan’s 10-year economic and social development plan and the economic blueprint “Jordan 2025”.

Ali said this meeting allows the private sector in Jordan and Belgium to discover new chances and channels to boost economic relations.