Ammon News - Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply and Minister of Labor, Yousef Shamali and his accompanying delegation on Wednesday discussed with a number of Iraqi ministers and officials, mechanisms to enhance joint cooperation in multiple fields.

Shamali, who is currently heading a high-level delegation from the public and private sectors to meetings of the 29th joint Jordanian-Iraqi committee, said multiple projects and understandings are being implemented by the two countries aimed to enhance bilateral cooperation in various fields, especially in economic areas, foremost are projects to establish economic estate, launch electrical interconnection and build oil pipeline and others in the labour field.

In the capital Baghdad, Shamali met Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Oil, Hayan Abdul-Ghani, Minister of Industry and Minerals, Khaled Al-Battal, head of the Iraqi side in the Iraqi-Jordanian joint committee talks, and Minister of Labor and Social Welfare, Ahmed Al-Asadi.

Earlier this morning, Iraqi Prime Minister, Muhammad Shia'a al-Sudani received Shamali and the accompanying delegation.

Shamali, who heads the Jordanian side for the joint committee meetings, said Jordanian-Iraqi relations are "complementary" and serve common interests.

The two countries' governments are working with "utmost seriousness" in coordination with the Egyptian side to complete implementation of the outcomes of the tripartite summits that brought together leaders of Jordan, Iraq and Egypt in many fields, especially achieving industrial integration and promoting food security, according to Shamali.

On their agenda, he said joint committee meetings will discuss multiple files that would improve cooperation frameworks between the two countries in various fields.

Shamali also referred to "clear" progress in completing procedures to implement the joint economic estate project, adding that a tender to attract a developer is expected to be floated during the second half of 2023, as is the case for other cooperation enterprises in the energy, trade, and transportation fields.

During the meeting, the two sides showed common interest to remove difficulties facing joint trade and stimulate the private sector to take advantage of the opportunities available in the wo countries.

Shamali said participation of a large delegation of Jordanian businesspeople in the business talks, which are scheduled to kick off in Baghdad today, alongside their Iraqi counterpart, reflects interest and desire to develop joint economic cooperation at various levels.

Volume of Jordan-Iraq trade exchange during the first 10 months of 2022 amounted to about JD645 million, constituting an increase of 7%, compared to the same period in 2021, according to official data.

Shamali signed a cooperation agreement with Iraqi minister of labor and social welfare in the labor, vocational training and social development field.

For their part, Iraqi ministers and officials stressed the importance of expediting procedures related to joint "strategic" projects and stimulating the private sector to take advantage of the available opportunities.

Also, they stressed the importance of maintaining joint action to increase trade volume , establish investments in both countries, exchange expertise and cooperation in the labor and vocational training fields, and benefit from Jordanian experience in this field.

In a related context, technical meetings of the 29th joint Jordanian-Iraqi committee began in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, on Wednesday.

More than 100 Jordanian businesspeople representing various sectors and their Iraqi counterparts are participating in the business meetings, which are held on the sidelines of the committee's discussions.