Ammon News - Relations between Singapore and Jordan are excellent and longstanding, underpinned and nurtured by a shared destiny as small multi-cultural and multi-religious states with limited natural resources, and extensive engagement between the two nations' leaderships, Singaporean ambassador in Amman Shamsher Zaman said on Monday.

In a wide-ranging interview with the Jordan News Agency (Petra) on his country's national day, Zaman said Singapore "will always be grateful that Jordan was one of four countries that co-sponsored Singapore’s application to join the United Nations (UN) following our independence in 1965."

At the political level, the ambassador indicated, "we were honored to welcome His Majesty King Abdullah II to Singapore in June 2019 for his third State Visit where he delivered the keynote address at the inaugural International Conference on Cohesive Societies." Zaman noted that the King's insightful message on inter-faith harmony and moderate Islam offer lessons which we in Singapore can learn from.

The envoy noted that Jordan remains a popular destination for Singaporean students to further their studies, pointing out that there are more than 90 Singaporean students enrolled at Jordanian universities, primarily studying Islamic jurisprudence and the Arabic language.

He emphasized that Singaporean students' educational journey in Jordan will most certainly help expand their understanding of the Middle East, and help build bonds of friendship between Singapore and Jordan at the people-to-people level.

Furthermore, the ambassador indicated that his country's religious body, the Majlis Ulama Islam Singapura (MUIS) has worked with the University of Jordan to develop the Postgraduate Certificate in Islam in Contemporary Societies program. This program is directed at helping returning graduates from overseas Islamic tertiary institutions contextualize their studies to Singapore’s multicultural context. Since its introduction in April 2019, the program has taken in its third cohort.

With regard to economic cooperation, Zaman noted that there are several Singaporean companies in Jordan in the textile and technology sectors, adding: "Through the Jordan-Singapore Free Trade Agreement and an Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreement, we have committed to forging closer economic ties with each other."

The ambassador further said: "Given that Singapore and Jordan are water-scarce countries, a situation which will be exacerbated by climate change, the governments of both countries have signed an MoU on Water Resources Management to facilitate the exchange of views and experiences in water management and resources. We have also had regular engagement with officials to exchange views on regional developments and governance."

Zaman stressed that he was confident that the bilateral ties between the two countries will continue to grow and deepen as they navigate through the challenges and opportunities emerging from the post-COVID-19 landscape together.

Also, the ambassador underlined that Jordan and Singapore have worked closely through the Forum of Small States (FOSS) to raise awareness of issues such as climate change, food security, and free trade, and facilitate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals at the UN.

"Through the Asia-Middle East Dialogue (AMED), a platform that was set up to foster greater political, economic, and cultural engagement between Asia and the Middle East, Singapore had worked with Jordan to establish the Regional Vocational Training Centre in Amman. Since then we have conducted courses for more than 280 participants from 21 countries from AMED and Africa," he noted.

Responding to a question on Jordan-Singapore economic cooperation and trade exchange, Zaman indicated that Jordan and Singapore have enjoyed warm and close economic ties. "In 2020, bilateral trade between our two countries amounted to US$134 million. While traditional sectors of interest by Singapore companies include textiles and chemicals, we have also seen an uptick in interest to participate in the growth of Jordan’s digital economy."

"For example, there are synergies between our companies to exchange ideas and create partnerships in Fintech, particularly in the area of digital payments. There is more that we can do to facilitate and grow the volume of trade and investment flows between our countries. As countries gradually emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, I look forward to deepening conversations and visiting Jordan as we work together to build greater awareness and forge collaboration between our countries," Zaman said.

According to the ambassador, Jordan was the first country in the Middle East which Singapore signed a Free Trade Agreement with in 2004, saying: "our countries have also signed the Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreement last month. These Agreements are important to the growth of bilateral trade and economic flows as they provide greater markets access and lower barriers to cross-border investment for companies in Jordan and Singapore."

These agreements, he added, "form the bedrock of our economic relations and provide our businesses increased confidence to explore the opportunities that both our countries have to offer. A deeper partnership between the two countries through such economic agreements will provide a means through which our companies can expand their reach into each other’s markets as well as through to the broader ASEAN and Middle East regions."

The ambassador emphasized that there have been conversations between Singapore's Economic Development Board and the Jordan Investment Commission on facilitating business tie-ups and collaboration.

"I also note that there has been interest for stronger bilateral collaboration, including sharing of technical expertise. Aside from BIGO’s and Ramatex’s presence in Jordan, PATEC, is collaborating with First Armour, an affiliate to King Abdullah II Design and Development Bureau to produce N95 masks for Jordan. On the digital front, I understand that there has been greater interest by Singapore tech start-ups to work with Jordanian companies and supplement to their localization and fintech expertise," he said.

With regard to counterterror cooperation, Zaman said terrorism is a global scourge which all members of the international community have to work towards eradicating. Both Singapore and Jordan are members of the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, noting: "As part of our contribution towa the Coalition, Singapore has contributed personnel and assets to its ongoing efforts to fight ISIS."

As one of the world’s most religiously diverse countries, Singapore the ambassador stressed, recognizes that "our diversity is our strength. To that end, we have taken steps to promote interfaith dialogue, harmony and understanding; and prevent radicalisation from taking root and tearing apart the fabric of our society."

Recognising the common interest that Singapore and Jordan have in facilitating interfaith dialogue and address the challenge of radicalization, both governments have regular exchanges of views on these issues, he further added.

Turning to Middle East issues, namely the Palestinian cause, Zaman indicated that Singapore has taken a consistent and principled position on the Palestinian issue, adding: "We have always supported a negotiated two-state solution that allows both Israelis and Palestinians to live side-by-side in peace and security. We hope that both Israel and the Palestinians will take steps to resume direct talks towards resolving this longstanding conflict."

Zaman said: "Given Jordan’s historical position as the custodian of the Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, and His Majesty’s efforts in promoting interfaith dialogue and harmony globally, Jordan is uniquely placed in working with regional countries to bring about progress in the peace process, and bridge the differences between both sides."

The ambassador reiterated that ties between Singapore and Jordan are broad and multifaceted, indicating that both sides worked hard to build a strong foundation over the years.

"I am really proud to say that Jordan and Singapore have proven to be firm friends in these challenging times. Both sides have helped each other and pulled our resources together to further our mutual interests. Recognizing the challenges posed by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Singapore Government and the Temasek Foundation International contributed 10,000 and 5,000 test kits respectively to Jordan in March last year. The Jordanian government has also helped to ensure the welfare of our Singaporean students there during the pandemic", Zaman concluded.

(Petra)