ACC president meets with Tunisian trade delegation over commercial partnerships

AMMAN — President of the Amman Chamber of Commerce Khalil Hajj Tawfiq on Tuesday encouraged Jordanian and Tunisian companies to establish partnerships to boost the two countries' commercial and industrial relations to new heights.

During a meeting with a Tunisian trade delegation, Hajj Tawfiq stressed that trade exchange between the two countries has yet to meet its full potential, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

In this regard, he stressed the need to increase trade delegation visits, hold trade exhibitions, activate bilateral agreements and focus on sectors with a competitive advantage in the two countries, especially ICT, tourism, food and pharmaceutical industries.

He pointed out that Jordan is an important gateway for Tunisian products to access the region's markets, especially Gulf countries, while Tunisia is an important access point for the Kingdom's exports to Africa and Europe.

Hajj Tawfiq noted Jordan’s strategic location and  network of trade agreements with many countries, especially the US, Singapore and Canada, which enable Jordanian products to access approximately two billion consumers without customs barriers.

For his part, President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Tunisia Mounir Moakher pointed out that the private sector bears the "great" responsibility to set a new framework for economic relations and focus on added value sectors.

Moakher stressed the importance of an updated joint database on available economic and investment opportunities that enables commodity base expansion and focuses on importing abundant production inputs.

He pointed out that his country has high industrial and productive capabilities with competitive prices and quality, noting that 78 per cent of Tunisia's exports are sent to European markets.

Moakher called for establishing Jordanian-Tunisian commercial partnerships aimed at accessing many markets in the region, especially the Palestinian market.

He also stressed the importance of establishing Jordanian investments in Tunisia in order to benefit from relations and agreements that bind it with the European Union and African countries, stressing that his country welcomes any Arab economic cooperation led by Jordan.