Home
July 14, 2011
Jordan, Iraq and West Bank business leaders aim to expand cooperation
AMMAN - Regional business leaders from Jordan, Iraq, and the West Bank met this week in the second Business to Business (B2B) conference under USAID’s regional business initiative.
The event covered three sectors: tourism, information and communications technology (ICT), and banking and financial services, which were identified as knowledge-based service industries with potential for cross-border business exchanges.
Mike Reilly, a programme officer for USAID’s regional office in Cairo, told The Jordan Times that USAID sponsored the event in cooperation with SEGURA Partners LLC and the American Chamber of Commerce of Jordan (AMCHAM/Jordan) to bring businesses together, in hope that the end result will be to create jobs, increase exports, and create investment opportunities.
The first B2B event was held in Amman in December 2010 and gathered 66 companies from the three countries.
“The first B2B event was more general [but] we realised that the service sector was what the three countries had most in common,” Mohammad Sa’ad Al Bataineh, the chairman of AMCHAM/Jordan told The Jordan Times.
Business representatives formulated suggestions for government trade procedures in a forum on Tuesday. They highlighted the difficulty encountered by Iraqis in attempting to obtain Jordanian visas and noted that the process often takes at least 10 days.
A representative of AMCHAM/Jordan emphasised the investment opportunities lost as a consequence of the delayed Iraqi-Jordanian visa process.
“We really need to understand that we are missing out on a lot of business because of certain rules and regulations. We have taken big strides in making business across the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, while really a lot of business… especially amongst neighbouring countries remains too little [compared to] the amount of trade that is taking place,” said Bataineh.
“The geographic location and the fact that we share so much in common is an opportunity for us to capitalise on,” he told The Jordan Times, adding that “we really feel that it’s a one country situation”.
At Wednesday’s closing reception, an AMCHAM/Jordan representative presented suggestions put forth during the conference.
Among the most notable ideas mentioned were the establishment of pan-Arab credit lines and the liberalisation of free trade zones between the three countries.
Government officials were also present to share ideas about best practices and opportunities for cooperation in the respective sectors.
In her speech at the closing reception, Jordanian Tourism and Antiquities Minister Haifa Abu Ghazaleh encouraged increased Iraqi religious tourism to Jordan and spoke about the measures the government is taking to facilitate cross-border transportation, saying: “We are trying to make life easier for our friends coming from Iraq.”
Bataineh expressed AMCHAM/Jordan’s hopes for future B2B events. “What we hope is that next time it takes place in Iraq or maybe in Palestine,” he told The Jordan Times. “The business is very close at hand, very literally in our backyard.”
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
Jordan, Iraq and West Bank business leaders aim to expand cooperation
AMMAN - Regional business leaders from Jordan, Iraq, and the West Bank met this week in the second Business to Business (B2B) conference under USAID’s regional business initiative.
The event covered three sectors: tourism, information and communications technology (ICT), and banking and financial services, which were identified as knowledge-based service industries with potential for cross-border business exchanges.
Mike Reilly, a programme officer for USAID’s regional office in Cairo, told The Jordan Times that USAID sponsored the event in cooperation with SEGURA Partners LLC and the American Chamber of Commerce of Jordan (AMCHAM/Jordan) to bring businesses together, in hope that the end result will be to create jobs, increase exports, and create investment opportunities.
The first B2B event was held in Amman in December 2010 and gathered 66 companies from the three countries.
“The first B2B event was more general [but] we realised that the service sector was what the three countries had most in common,” Mohammad Sa’ad Al Bataineh, the chairman of AMCHAM/Jordan told The Jordan Times.
Business representatives formulated suggestions for government trade procedures in a forum on Tuesday. They highlighted the difficulty encountered by Iraqis in attempting to obtain Jordanian visas and noted that the process often takes at least 10 days.
A representative of AMCHAM/Jordan emphasised the investment opportunities lost as a consequence of the delayed Iraqi-Jordanian visa process.
“We really need to understand that we are missing out on a lot of business because of certain rules and regulations. We have taken big strides in making business across the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, while really a lot of business… especially amongst neighbouring countries remains too little [compared to] the amount of trade that is taking place,” said Bataineh.
“The geographic location and the fact that we share so much in common is an opportunity for us to capitalise on,” he told The Jordan Times, adding that “we really feel that it’s a one country situation”.
At Wednesday’s closing reception, an AMCHAM/Jordan representative presented suggestions put forth during the conference.
Among the most notable ideas mentioned were the establishment of pan-Arab credit lines and the liberalisation of free trade zones between the three countries.
Government officials were also present to share ideas about best practices and opportunities for cooperation in the respective sectors.
In her speech at the closing reception, Jordanian Tourism and Antiquities Minister Haifa Abu Ghazaleh encouraged increased Iraqi religious tourism to Jordan and spoke about the measures the government is taking to facilitate cross-border transportation, saying: “We are trying to make life easier for our friends coming from Iraq.”
Bataineh expressed AMCHAM/Jordan’s hopes for future B2B events. “What we hope is that next time it takes place in Iraq or maybe in Palestine,” he told The Jordan Times. “The business is very close at hand, very literally in our backyard.”
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]
