Ammon News - The Dutch Embassy on Thursday organised a private sector dialogue session with over 30 Jordanian businesses, ranging in size from small, medium and large enterprises.

The companies, which attended the event, covered diverse industries, including banks, investment companies, food delivery services, logistics and pharmaceuticals.

Speaking during the dialogue, Dutch ambassador to Jordan, Harry Verweij, presented the embassy’s private sector engagement plans and programmes while stressing the importance of engaging youth in the private sector.

"Youth are key for sustainable economic growth and central throughout the Netherlands’ development policies. The Netherlands launched a strategy called Youth@Heart last year to ensure inclusion of youth in our approaches and increase their agency in shaping their future. To Jordan, this is highly relevant hence the focus of youth in our discussion today,"said Verweij.

The Netherlands is an "active" supporter of private sector development in Jordan. Since 2019, the Netherlands has committed over 30 million euros towards activities that focus on improving market access and strengthening economic actors in the horticulture value chain, promoting entrepreneurship and improving access to finance, the diplomat noted.

Youth, women and vulnerable communities are mainstreamed throughout the embassy’s economic development programmes, he pointed out.

Furthermore, he said the Netherlands is "particularly active" in supporting the horticultural value chain, helping companies raise production and quality of the produce, while using less water.

In addition, he noted the Netherlands is "pro-actively" helping agricultural and other companies in preparing for and entering foreign markets – including the Netherlands – through the Dutch Center for the Promotion of Imports from Developing Countries (CBI).

Recently, the embassy signed a 4 million euro project with Leaders International that will help Jordanian SMEs become consistent and high quality suppliers to Jordanian industries, replacing the need for more expensive and time-consuming imports.

The Netherlands designated Jordan as a priority country for development cooperation in 2019, investing more than 200 million euros to support the hosting of refugees and vulnerable host communities.

Jordan and the Netherlands enjoy expanded cooperation in a number of fields, including food security, water management, technical and vocational education, trade and investment, entrepreneurship, and human rights.