‘Investment commission to ease applications for investors in EU deal’

AMMAN — The Jordan Investment Commission (JIC) has allocated a special queue for investors interested in benefiting from the EU deal on simplified rules of origin, an official said on Sunday.  

Investors can submit applications to take advantage of the Jordanian-EU agreement in a dedicated line at the investment window directorate, said JIC President Thabet Al Wir. 

The decision aims to guarantee that registrations, licences and approvals for the establishment of investment projects under the deal will be issued swiftly, Wir said in a JIC statement. 

Last Thursday, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply Jawad Anani said the deal entered into effect on July 20 and would be valid until the end of 2026.

Speaking at a workshop organised by the Jordan Chamber of Industry, Anani added that the agreement would boost the Kingdom’s economy by encouraging investments and creating more jobs for Jordanians.

The rules of origin will be applied to Jordanian exports that are manufactured in designated development zones and industrial estates in Jordan.

No less than 15 per cent of the manpower in any factory that will export to the EU under this agreement should be Syrian and this rate will be raised to 25 per cent in the third year of the agreement.

Wir said that the agreement, which was one of the outcomes of the London donor conference in February, would increase national exports and contribute to compensating the Kingdom for the losses incurred by the closure of traditional markets as a result of unstable political conditions in the region.

Simplified rules of origin would also generate many jobs for Jordanians in the coming years by attracting new investments to the Kingdom, the JIC president added, noting that the commission would organise promotional campaigns in the EU to acquaint businesspeople with investment advantages in Jordan, according to the statement.