Halawani, Husseini pledge to advance Jordanian-Iraqi trade, investment ties

AMMAN — Industry and Trade Minister Hatem Halawani on Monday emphasised the importance of increasing commercial exchange volume between Jordan and Iraq. During a meeting with Iraqi counterpart Malas Husseini and an accompanying delegation, Halawani expressed Jordan’s readiness to help Iraq under current circumstances. Jordanian exports to Iraq until September 2014 reached JD638.6 million compared to JD648.2 million during the same period last year, according to a ministry statement sent to The Jordan Times. Halawani underlined the importance of benefiting from the Grand Arab Free Trade Zone Agreement, and the bilateral free trade agreement between the Kingdom and Iraq which was signed in September 2009 and took effect in March 2013. Jordan is interested in Iraqi investments which are considered an added value to the national economy, Halawani said, stressing that the Kingdom will take all necessary procedures to facilitate Iraqi investments in the Kingdom. Iraqi investments in Jordan reached JD379 million until the end of 2013, according to the statement. For his part, Husseini pledged to work with relevant Iraqi institutions to remove all obstacles affecting the bilateral trade, in addition to encouraging private sector in the two countries to establish more investments.