‘Warm, brotherly’ Jordan-Malaysia ties develop into diverse collaborations — ambassador

AMMAN — Malaysia and Jordan are working closely to strengthen their collaboration in areas of common interest, said Malaysia’s Ambassador to Jordan Mohamad Nasri Abdul Rahman. 

In a recent interview session with local media, he noted that Malaysia and Jordan have enjoyed “warm and brotherly” relations since the establishment of their diplomatic ties in 1965. 

“Both countries share commonalities in many areas not only in terms of the diversity of their populations, but also in relation to the interests of the Muslim Ummah including the situation in Palestine,” Abdul Rahman said. 

He added that Jordanian-Malysian ties have materialised into collaborations across various fields such as trade and investment, energy, higher education, pharmaceuticals and defence, among others.

Trade and investment 

Malaysia-Jordan bilateral trade volume totalled $186.64 million during the period from January to June 2023, according to Abdul Rahman.

The ambassador noted that Malaysia’s top five exports to Jordan between 2020 and 2022 included palm oil and palm oil-based agricultural products, textiles, apparel and footwear, palm oil-based manufactured products, rubber products, and processed food. 

On the other hand, Malaysia’s top five imports from Jordan, during the same period, were chemicals and chemical products, crude fertilisers and crude minerals, textiles, apparel and footwear, other agricultural products and metal products. 

He also pointed out that the Malaysian embassy in Jordan and the Malaysia External Trade Development Cooperation (MATRADE), in collaboration with the Amman Chamber of Commerce, will be hosting a trade webinar in October to discuss bilateral trade and investment opportunities and connect business firms from both countries. 

The Jordanian Economic Forum, scheduled for March 2024, will also feature the participation of countries from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which have permanent embassies in the Kingdom, including Malaysia, he added.

The ambassador further stressed that Malaysia offers a “conducive” economic environment with attractive incentives for foreign companies to relocate or undertake new investments. 

Tourism

Abdul Rahman said that the embassy is working with stakeholders in Jordan to explore cooperation opportunities to boost tourism between the two countries, including the resumption of a direct flight between Kuala Lumpur and Amman.

Jordan is an “attractive” tourism destination for Malaysians, as it’s home to a diverse range of natural, archaeological and religious sites. Malaysia also offers Jordanians with “unforgettable” tourism experiences, such as shopping, cruising and honeymooning, he said. 

Malaysia has been named the top Muslim-friendly Destination of the Year and received the title of the Muslim Women-friendly Destination for the Year in 2023, according to Abdul Rahman. 

Education and training

The ambassador noted that there are currently 1,500 Malaysian students enrolled in various universities in Jordan and majoring in areas of study that include Arabic language, Islamic affairs and Islamic banking, among others. There are also 1,744 post-graduate students from Jordan currently pursuing their studies in Malaysia. 

“South-South Cooperation remains an integral part of Malaysia’s foreign policy, in which Malaysia, under the framework of the Malaysian Technical Cooperation Programme, offers capacity building programmes for 144 developing countries, including Jordan,” he said. 

Since the inception of the programme in 1980, Malaysia has trained 487 officials from Jordan, including 59 in 2022 alone, according to Abdul Rahman. 

He pointed out that this programme includes training courses in vast areas of development such as Technical and Vocational Training, maritime management, public administration, cyber-security, rural advancement, aviation management, petroleum technology and Islamic banking and finance.