Saudi-Jordanian council holds first meeting; deals signed

AMMAN — Jordan and Saudi Arabia on Wednesday signed agreements of cooperation as the first meeting of the Saudi-Jordanian Coordination Council (SJCC) was convened in Riyadh, co-chaired by Prime Minister Hani Mulki and Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman Al Saud.

The two sides signed the minutes of the establishment of the council, which was announced in April during a visit by His Majesty King Abdullah to the kingdom, where he met with King Salman Bin
Abdulaziz Al Saud.

Mulki, who was accompanied by a high-level ministerial delegation to the meeting, also signed with Prince Mohammad the minutes of the first meeting of SJCC,
which has the mandate to oversee all aspects of cooperation between the two neighbours, especially economic partnership. 

Through the coordination council, Saudi Arabia will invest in projects listed in the law governing the Jordan Investment Fund (JIF), which was the outcome of the council’s inception. The fund law grants special privileges to local and non-Jordanian investors involved in the designated mega projects.

The deals signed Wednesday included a memorandum of understanding (MoU) regarding Saudi Arabia’s Public Investments Fund (PIF) and Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority to execute a development project in Aqaba.

The project’s details will take shape when the relevant studies are completed by the PIF, according to Petra. 

They signed a deal to prevent dual taxation and tax evasion, with the aim of encouraging and protecting investments. 

An MoU was signed to boost industrial cooperation, through supporting SMEs, starting joint industrial projects and increasing added value as the first steps towards broader industrial cooperation.

The two sides also signed the executive programme for cooperation between the Saudi Radio and Television Corporation and its Jordanian counterpart, which will be exchanging reports on progress made in projects and carry out media training. 

The two sides looked into a PIF decision to establish and register a public shareholding company to manage its investments in Jordan in partnership with local banks and financiers, as stipulated in the JIF Law.

They agreed that the SJCC’s preparatory committee should proceed with its work to formulate agreements concerning other projects, particularly in the fields of electricity interconnectivity, mining and military industries, which are to be submitted to the council and signed during an upcoming visit by King Salman to Jordan. 

In remarks at the meeting, Mulki underlined commonalities between Jordan and Saudi Arabia, stressing that Amman deems the security of the eastern neighbour as part and parcel of Jordan’s own security and stability. 

For his part, the Saudi deputy crown prince agreed that both Jordan and his country are facing together shared geopolitical challenges, describing Jordan as a “strong shield for Saudi Arabia, the other Gulf countries and the Arab world in a very difficult region”.

Following the meeting, Jordan and Saudi delegates issued a communiqué in which they summed up the agreements reached, stressing the need for further cooperation.