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Ammon News - The Jordan Chamber of Commerce (JCC) Wednesday organized a workshop for local companies with an American trade delegation from the state of Nebraska to introduce investment opportunities and areas of joint economic cooperation.

President of the JCC Nael Kabariti lauded the National US-Arab Chamber of Commerce's (NUSACC) role in bolstering trade ties between the Arab world and the United States, and providing a host of services. He also commended the United States’ ongoing support to the Kingdom in various fields.

The world is on the verge of a new order, said Kabariti, indicating that a post-COVID world will be entirely different, as a number of economic powers are emerging and competing to manage this new order. The biggest competition in the future will be over food security, he stated.

He stressed that the challenges imposed by the coronavirus pandemic push forward joint action to expand the trade balance between the two countries, increase the quantity and quality of investments, and exchange knowledge.

He urged the delegation to leverage the investment and economic opportunities available in the Kingdom, highlighting safety and stability, infrastructure and modern legislation, and trade agreements linking Jordan with various global economic blocs.

Jordan is a gateway to other countries, he underlined, especially Iraq, Syria and the Gulf Arab states, voicing hope to boost cooperation based on common interests and benefits to further trade and investment relations to meet the aspirations of the two countries' peoples.

Robert Evnen, Secretary of State of Nebraska, said that the visit to Jordan has shown indications on the extent of entrepreneurship and innovation in both the public and private sectors, especially in the agricultural field.

He stressed that the delegation is committed to enhancing ties to benefit the two countries' peoples, expressing hope that the visit will have a positive outcome.

For his part, the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Investment Zaher Qatarneh underscored the importance of the economic partnership between Jordan and the United States, calling on the private sector in Nebraska to explore available opportunities in the Kingdom, conclude agreements and build trade and investment partnerships.

The Kingdom, he indicated, is a regional hub that attracts business owners to step into global markets under free trade agreements that allow Jordanian products to reach more than 1.5 billion consumers. He pointed to Jordan ongoing progress on the "ease of doing business" index issued annually by the World Bank.

Qatarneh talked about 79 investment opportunities in various vital sectors, with a volume of approximately $4.7 billion.

He stated that the Kingdom keeps up with international best practices in the investment process to provide an encouraging and sustainable investment environment, noting that the national economy grew during the past year despite the fallout from the pandemic on the global economy.

Michael Hankey, Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Amman, stressed the importance of establishing trade partnerships between Jordan and Nebraska, especially in the field of food security, as the state produces a wide range of basic food commodities, in addition to leveraging its expertise in agriculture.

Hankey pointed out that Nebraska managed to overcome water scarcity by using modern methods of agriculture and developing technological solutions, which Jordan can leverage to resolve its water scarcity issue.

He also underlined that his country's embassy in the Kingdom encourages and supports all efforts establish trade partnerships between Jordan and the United States.

In turn, David Hamod, President and CEO of NUSACC, underscored the importance of cooperation between Jordanian companies and their counterparts in Nebraska, and benefiting from the trade and investment opportunities available.

"We are here to conclude partnerships with Jordan for the benefit of both countries," Hamod said, pointing out that Jordanian companies' access to Nebraskan market entails access to 50 other markets in the United States.

Noteworthy, the Kingdom’s exports to the United States increased during the January-November period of 2021, by 34.6 percent, to reach JD1.460 billion, compared to JD1.085 billion during the same period of 2020.

In turn, Nebraska State Secretary of State Robert Evnen said that the delegation is looking forward to building stronger future relations that will benefit the citizens of the two countries, expressing his hope that the visit will contribute to positive and important results in the interest of all.