ACC, ASEAN ambassadors agree on joint economic meeting before year’s end

AMMAN — The Amman Chamber of Commerce (ACC) and ambassadors from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Wednesday agreed to prepare for an Asian-Jordanian economic meeting in Amman before the end of this year.

The event will include a business forum and a products exhibition, according to an ACC statement. 

The parties agreed to hold bilateral meetings to bring together business owners, industrialists and traders from ASEAN countries, and their Jordanian counterparts. They also agreed to address the Union of Arab Chambers through the Jordan Chamber of Commerce to invite the members of the Arab commerce and industry chambers, especially Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt, Yemen and the Gulf Cooperation Council states, to take part in the forum.

The two sides also emphasised the importance of focusing on inbound and outbound tourism, a main driver of economic exchange between Jordan and ASEAN countries.

Thai Ambassador Supark Prongthura, who also serves as the head of ASEAN in Jordan, emphasised the ASEAN countries' keenness to strengthen and develop relations with Jordan, especially in trade and investment.

Malaysia’s Ambassador to Jordan Mohamad Nasri Abdul Rahman, Indonesian Ambassador to Jordan Ade Padmo Sarwono, Philippines Ambassador Wilfredo C. Santos, and Brunei Ambassador Mahadi Maidin stressed the need to enhance intra-trade exchanges between the 10 ASEAN countries and the Kingdom, stressing the need to provide information and data on the economic opportunities available for both sides.

The seventh largest economy in the world, ASEAN is a political-economic organisation established in 1967 in Bangkok with the aim of enhancing cooperation among member states in the economic, social, cultural, technical and educational fields, in addition to promoting regional peace and stability.

ASEAN includes Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Brunei, Singapore, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia.