Ammon News -

The 9th session of the Joint Jordanian-American Committee, which was held recently in Washington, discussed cooperation in the trade, agriculture, food security and labor fields.

Secretary General of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply, Dana Zoubi, chaired Jordan's delegation, and Deputy Representative of US Trade, Jayme White, represented U.S. side, with the participation of the two countries' officials.

In a statement on Sunday, Zoubi said Jordanian-American economic relations are "historic and strategic," and their foundations are based on common interests, stressing the need to develop ties, especially in the commercial fields.

Zoubi also stressed Jordan's keenness to strengthen its trade and economic relations with Washington and attract foreign added-value investments to the national economy, which would contribute to advancing Jordan's development and provide job opportunities for Jordanians.

For his part, White noted Jordan-U.S. relations are a "deep-rooted" strategy, pointing to the importance of continuing to boost their level, especially in trade and investment areas.

White noted sub-committees meetings help find out key hardships and obstacles that affect trade exchange flow, stressing U.S. side's interest in holding the committee's 10th session in Amman next year.

The committee's discussions went over multiple issues of common concern, including ways to enhance trade exchange in goods and services areas, and importance of diversifying Jordanian exports to the United States, the statement said.

The committee also discussed ways to overcome hardships facing Jordan-U.S. private sector in export fields, referring to the United States as a target market within Jordan's export strategy 2023-2025, the statement added.

In addition, Jordanian delegation urged American investors to enhance investment in the Kingdom and benefit from its new investment law.

During the meeting, the delegates thanked Washington for its continuous support to Jordan in a number of sectors, especially assistance provided by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) within its programs that target the commercial and economic sectors and various society groups.

The committee's meetings yielded multiple outcomes, primarily formation of a joint sub-committee entrusted to revisiting legislation on environmental affairs to stimulate mutual trade and raise level of the two countries' ecological protection in implementing Article 5 of Free Trade Agreement (FTA), and agreement to resolve a slew of hardships facing trade exchange.

In 2022, value of Jordan's exports to the United States amounted to $2.38 billion, which accounted for more than 25% of the total national exports, while its imports stood at $1.49 billion, according to official data.

Meanwhile, Jordan's exports to the United States during last January amounted to $166.4 million, and its imports reached %212.4 million.

The committee convenes regularly to discuss ways and mechanisms to boost commercial cooperation in various fields and enhance trade exchange level under the FTA signed by the two countries in 2001.