PM meets Arab-African delegations over economic cooperation

AMMAN — Prime Minister Hani Mulki on Thursday received the ministers and heads of delegations who are participating in the Arab-African Economic Forum taking place in Amman, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The forum, held under the title “Partnership Roadmap and Financing Mechanisms”, is attended by more than 500 participants from 54 Arab, African and foreign countries, in addition to Jordan.

It aims to boost the economic, trade and investment ties among Arab and African countries.

At the meeting, also attended by State Minister for Media Affairs Mohammad Momani, and President of the Amman Chamber of Commerce (ACC) Issa Murad, the premier stressed that Jordan will support any joint project, as well as the implementation of all measures agreed on during the forum.

Mulki noted that the amount of economic interaction between the Arab and African countries is still below the expected level, stressing that there are opportunities to increase it through trade investment, in light of the availability of raw materials in both regions.

He said that the situation in Iraq and Syria is now heading towards more stability, which will open opportunities for investment in services, reconstruction, and information technologies.

The premier noted that Aqaba and the Suez Canal could play an important role in activating Asian-African trade and investment and expressed the government’s eagerness in supporting partnerships between the private sectors in Jordan and the African countries.

For their part, participants from Africa expressed their appreciation for His Majesty King Abdullah’s support for the forum and stressed that Africa, with its natural resources, could complement the Arab countries and their human resources.

They called on the governments to facilitate trade measures and support the logistic sectors.