Ammon News - The Irish Ambassador to Jordan, Marianne Bolger, made a passionate call for investing in Jordan arguing that the Kingdom provides more than just an improved bottom line.
Speaking at the Amman International Rotary Club at the Four-Season Hotel in Amman, Wednesday, Bolger also called for the need for a direct Amman-Dublin air route to improve tourism and the exchange of talents and goods.
The bilateral trade relationship between Jordan and Ireland has shown promising growth in recent years, she said. “Trade exports from Ireland to Jordan have increased significantly, from €160 million in 2017 to €330 million in 2021. However positive these numbers are, they represent only a small fraction of the potential of the trade relationship between our two countries and this is something that I intend to focus on during my time here as Ambassador. “
Ireland’s main exports to Jordan include pharmaceuticals, machinery, and organic chemicals. Jordan's exports to Ireland primarily consist of textiles and clothing, mineral fuels, and inorganic chemicals. The sectors with the most significant potential for growth in bilateral trade between Jordan and Ireland are technology, pharmaceuticals, food and beverage, and tourism.
Irish companies are known for their expertise in these areas and can provide valuable services and products to Jordan. The Embassy of Ireland in Amman, in collaboration with the Ministry of Investment, has recently launched a “Doing Business in Jordan” guide aimed at Irish companies looking to invest in Jordan.
Ireland remains a strong and attractive location for investment and international business, 20 of the top 25 Financial Services companies, 17 of the top 20 global banks, 9 of the world’s top 10 global pharmaceutical firms, 9 of the top 10 US technology companies and 14 of the Top 15.
Med Tech companies all call Ireland home. We also continue to host many of the world’s leading companies - Google, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Microsoft, and Apple – as well as many other significant international companies. Innovating the potential that Ireland and Jordan have in improving business relations.
Ireland’s humanitarian funding to Jordan has supported a range of UN and NGO partners to deliver life-saving assistance where it is needed most. The Irish economy is a highly developed and open-knowledge economy, focused on services in the high-tech, life sciences, finance, and agribusiness sectors. The Services sector is by far the largest sector for employment within Ireland, with over 75%of the workforce employed in this sector (this ranges from retail workers to software developers to fund managers). The industry employs approximately 19% of the labor force, while the share employed in Agriculture is below 5%.
Ireland’s aid program continues to assist the world’s poorest people and is regularly assessed by the OECD to be among the world’s most effective aid programs. Ireland’s Overseas Development Aid budget for 2023 has been set at over € 1.23 billion. This represents an increase of 18% on the 2022 allocation, and the ninth consecutive year allocations to ODA have increased. Ireland has provided over €20 million in direct humanitarian assistance to Jordan since 2012.
Ambassador Bolger highlighted the Global Ireland Initiative 2025, which was launched in 2018. “The objective of this initiative is to increase Ireland’s impact and influence in the world. The Embassy of Ireland to Jordan was opened in January 2019 as one of the first of 22 Missions announced to date under this initiative, reflecting the importance that Ireland attaches to its relationship with Jordan. Bolger presented her credentials to His Majesty King Abdullah II last September to become Ireland's 2nd resident Ambassador.
She is a non-resident ambassador to Iraq as well. “My role cuts across political, business, cultural, humanitarian, and cultural issues to progress what is already a positive relationship between Jordan and Ireland. “Ireland completed its two-year term as a non-permanent elected member of the Council at the end of 2022.
Ireland co-chaired the Council’s informal expert group on Women, Peace, and Security, and the promotion of gender equality was a golden thread running through all of our work on the Council which during our tenure discussed the situation of women in the occupied Palestinian territory for the first time.
“When Palestinian Journalist, Shireen Abu Akleh was killed in the occupied Palestinian territory last May, we convened a meeting of Council members to address the issue of the protection of journalists. Our engagement at the council also focused on the illegal settlement expansion.
“Ireland also highlighted that 2022 was the deadliest year for Palestinians living in the West Bank since the UN began recording fatalities in 2015 and called for timely, transparent and independent investigations into all civilian casualties. 2022 was the deadliest on record in West Bank and call for an independent inquiry into civilian deaths,” she said.
Even though Ireland is not a NATO member and is not interested in joining, the Irish ambassador expressed strong support for the people of Ukraine in resisting the Russian war on them.
Ambassador Bolger talked about Ireland’s staunch support and active role in the European Union and spoke passionately about the importance of the Good Friday Agreement that helped resolve a long-standing violent conflict in Northern Ireland. “The Good Friday Agreement remains a model that informs our broader foreign policy engagement, particularly in the area of conflict resolution, including our engagement in Colombia, Mozambique, Palestine, and with other partners. As John Hume said following the conclusion of the Agreement: ‘We have succeeded - not because we have challenged others. We have succeeded because we have challenged ourselves. ‘“Ireland also highlighted that 2022 was the deadliest year for Palestinians living in the West Bank since the UN began recording fatalities in 2015 and called for timely, transparent, and independent investigations into all civilian casualties.”
She expressed the need to continue to nurture the peace brought about by the Good Friday Agreement, including by addressing the Irish legacy and its conflict resolution efforts.
Ambassador Bolger answered the questions of the audience and was honored with the Rotary flag and a letter of appreciation.
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