Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - Deputizing for His Majesty King Abdullah II, State Minister for Investment Affairs Muhannad Shihada Wednesday opened in Amman the 2nd Gulf- Jordanian Economic Forum, organized by Jordan Chamber of Commerce and in cooperation with the Federation of Chambers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

The meeting aims at further boosting trade, economic and investment ties as well as forging new partnerships between Jordan and the Arab Gulf states .

Sessions at the meeting will discuss means to achieve economic integration between the two sides, reconstruction, role of business entrepreneurs as well as investment opportunities in Jordan and the Gulf states.

The forum will also include two workshops on investment opportunities. The first will tackle investment in the knowledge sector and digital economy for small-and-medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), learning and training in preparation for the fourth industrial revolution . The second workshop will focus on investment opportunities for SMEs in the industrial field. Jordan's exports to Arab Gulf states stood at JD1.32 billion in 2016 while imports amounted to JD2.53 billion.

Jordan's exports to GCC countries stood at JD455 million in the first 5 months of this year while imports amounted to JD1.11 billion.

In his opening remarks, Shihada referred to King Abdullah II's efforts to attract investments, saying that political security and stability enable Jordan to be the center of international investments, regional center to support administrative and technical operations of multinational companies and a gateway for reconstruction in Iraq and Syria.

Chairman of Jordan Chamber of Commerce, Nael Kabariti, said that Jordan is keen to strengthen economic ties with GCC states, promote investment opportunities and open new markets for Jordanian products in the Gulf countries.