Hneifat meets with Turkish ambassador

AMMAN — Minister of Agriculture Khaled Hneifat on Tuesday urged Turkey to accelerate implementation of joint agricultural agreements. During talks with Turkish Ambassador to Jordan Murat Karagoz, Hneifat said that the government penned several agreements with Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) to kick off agricultural projects in the Kingdom, to fund agricultural product fairs across the country, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The minister noted that the agreements included establishing a dried-tomatoes factory this year in Mafraq to handle this vegetable's surplus, triggered by Jordan's land border closures with Syria and Iraq. For his part, Karagoz voiced keenness to push implementation of TIKA-executed agricultural projects in consultation with competent Ankara authorities. On the tomatoes surplus, he pledged to discuss opening a Turkish "gateway" for Jordan to export overabundant tomatoes product, a bid that will help the country's vital sector.