PM, Russia minister discuss trade, agriculture cooperation

AMMAN — Prime Minister Omar Razzaz on Thursday expressed the Kingdom's keenness to enhance Jordanian-Russian ties in various political, economic, agricultural and cultural fields.

Razzaz, during a meeting with Russian Minister of Agriculture Dmitry Patrushev and an accompanying delegation, highlighted the importance of increasing trade exchange and boosting the agricultural cooperation between the two countries.

Patrushev, who is currently visiting the Kingdom to participate in joint government committee meetings centred on enhancing cooperation, said that Jordanian-Russian relations are advancing in various fields, noting that Amman and Moscow last year marked the 55th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Expressing his country's interest in expanding trade exchange and agricultural cooperation with Jordan, Patrushev cited positive indicators in this arena, drawing attention to the 2018 Amman-Moscow trade exchange, which reached $600 million, marking a fourfold increase compared with 2017.

The volume of trade exchange between the two countries during the first eight months of this year grew by 20 per cent to reach $240 million, he added. 

Minister of Agriculture Ibrahim Shahahdeh, who attended the meeting, noted that Jordanian agricultural products have penetrated the Russian market for 10 years, highlighting that Jordanian products' access to the Russian market face challenges generated by regional crises, calling on Moscow to address this issue, Petra reported.

Minister of State for Media Affairs Amjad Adaileh, also in attendance, said that double taxation should be addressed to encourage joint investments.

During the meeting, the two sides agreed to reactivate the Jordanian-Russian agriculture agreement signed previously to enhance the exchange of agricultural products.