Murad underlines significance of Mukherjee's visit

AMMAN — Amman Chamber of Commerce (ACC) President Issa Murad on Monday called for benefiting from the "fruitful" results of Indian President Pranab Mukherjee's visit to Jordan in the economic, commercial and investment fields.

 Murad also highlighted the importance of investing the visit to develop current relations between Jordan and India which date back to six decades, adding it is important to build on the agreements and memoranda of understanding signed during the visit to move to a strategic cooperation. 

Amman and New Delhi has established "excellent" economic relations over the past decades, which can be seen in the trade exchange volume which annually reaches around $2 billion.

Mukherjee's visit to the Kingdom is really important, especially that India is a significant commercial partner to Jordan and the biggest importer of local phosphate and potash, Murad said, noting that Indian investments in the Kingdom exceeds $2 billion. 

He referred to the tourism, education, fabrics, fertilisers, phosphate and potash sectors as main fields both countries can cooperate on, in addition to Jordan's opportunity to benefit from India's ICT sector. 

The ACC president referred to His Majesty King Abdullah's affirmations during the meeting with Mukherjee, where he called for facilitating the procedures for Jordanian exports to penetrate the Indian market and establishing joint projects in fertilisers, ICT, pharmaceuticals and defence industries.

Inaugurating the Jordan India Fertilisers Company (JIFCO) in Eshidiya is a proof of profound partnership between the two countries, which was also seen in launching a joint scheme between the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited and the Jordan Phosphate Mines Company, he added. 

His Majesty and the Indian president on Saturday inaugurated JIFCO Phosphoric Acid Complex at Eshidiya, which is considered the biggest comprehensive unit to produce this acid in the world with a total investment volume of $800 million.

In 2014, the trade exchange volume between the two countries reached JD1.33 billion, while in the first half of 2015, it stood at JD640 million, Murad added.

Compound fertilisers and raw phosphate are Jordan's major exports to India, while food stuff, leather, fabrics, meat and agricultural products are main imports for Jordan from India.