ACC president, Jordan’s ambassador to Canada discuss trade cooperation

AMMAN — During his visit to Canada earlier in the year, President of the Amman Chamber of Commerce (ACC) Khalil Hajj Tawfiq stressed the importance of achieving His Majesty King Abdullah's directives to boost economic and investment relations with Canada.

During a virtual meeting with Jordan's Ambassador to Canada Majed Qatarneh, Hajj Tawfiq also called for developing cooperation between business owners and commercial and service sector institutions, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported, citing an ACC statement issued on Saturday.

The ACC and the Jordanian embassy in Canada also agreed to arrange for a commercial delegation to visit Canada later in the year in order to enhance economic relations and utilise the free trade agreement.

During the meeting, Hajj Tawfiq called for a permanent exhibition showcasing the Kingdom's products, goods, crafts and services, to be held in Canada, under the name "Jordan House".

For his part, Qatarneh noted that Canada enjoys a sizable consumer market, adding that the country is currently on a trajectory to diversify its import markets, constituting a “major opportunity” for Jordan.

He also expressed the embassy's readiness to open channels of communication between Canada and Jordanian chambers of commerce, and indicated a possibility to avail of the "excellent" relationship between the embassy and the Arab-Canadian Business Council as an important means of reaching Canadian business owners and merchants.

The ambassador commended the chamber's proposals to cooperate with Canada in the ICT sector and entrepreneurship.

Qatarneh also noted that he will contact the concerned Canadian authorities and inform them of the outcomes of the meeting, the most important of which is the commercial delegation visit to Canada, as well as coordination with the Arab-Canadian Business Council. 

Meanwhile, members of the ACC board of directors stressed that trade exchanges between the two countries remain below desired levels, despite the presence of a free trade agreement since 2012. Chamber members attributed current trade levels to the "poor" marketing of the agreement. 

They noted that the commercial exchange figures are lower than expected for exports and imports between the two countries. Studies on Canada's import market and the feasibility of attracting Canadian investors to establish factories in Jordan are available. 

The meeting was also attended by Minister Commissioner at the Embassy Omar Otum, according to the Petra report.