Alrai ــــ Jordan's Strategy Forum: Jordanian private sector institutions should form sectorial alliances that will contribute to enhancing opportunities for the Iraqi market 

Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply Dr. Tariq Al-Hammouri said that Jordan and Iraq have made great strides in enhancing the bilateral relations which were reflected in the recent royal visit to Baghdad and the high-level official exchange visits which culminated in the agreement of the two parties on a number of important understandings and vital projects announced during the official meeting between Prime Minister of the two countries at the Karama-Tarbil crossing on February 2, 2019. These agreements were aimed at boosting the Jordanian-Iraqi relations, which reflected positively on the two countries and peoples. The two sides reached a number of consensus, A; start working transportation system (Door to door) for goods perishable and petroleum products between the two countries and goods, and the exemption of Iraqi goods imported via Aqaba including rate (75%) of the handling fee in the port of Aqaba, allowing trucks countries Login empty without the need for permits. The two sides also agreed to facilitate the granting of visas to drivers for six months and several trips for the drivers of shipping in the two countries, in addition to many other understandings that would promote trade exchange. 

"Jordan has a great opportunity in the Iraqi market that needs to be exploited and built on despite the challenges in Jordan, such as the high cost of energy on the national industry," Hammouri said during a discussion session of the Jordan Strategies Forum held today under the patronage of Capital Bank. He also pointed out that Jordanian exports to Iraq during the first five months of this year were lower than in the same period of last year due to the conditions imposed by the Iraqi side on all imports such as import origin cards and other quality control procedures. Al Hammouri said that there are many competitive Jordanian products capable of competing in the Iraqi market. He pointed out that the government is working with the concerned parties to enhance the export of these products to increase the total volume of Jordanian exports to the Iraqi market. 

For his part, the Executive Director of the Strategy Forum of Jordan, Dr. Ibrahim Seif said that during the years following the war in Iraq in 2003, the trade balance between Jordan and Iraq was a surplus for Jordan, and the value of Jordanian exports to Iraq about 883 million Jordanian dinars in 2013. However, The repercussions of security and political instability in Iraq in the past few years and the closure of the border has decreased Jordanian exports to Iraq significantly to reach in the year 2018 to about 466 million dinars. In addition, Jordan's imports from Iraq decreased, forcing Jordan to import from other countries at a higher cost. 

Saif reviewed the most important exports of Jordan to Iraq and its size, indicating the obvious decline in exports of clothing, minerals and vegetables. Saif also reviewed the countries exporting to Iraq, noting that Jordan's share of Iraq's imports is only 1.8% of the value imported by Iraq, noting that there is a great opportunity to increase these Percentage and the promotion of Jordanian exports. In the context of Saif's context, the two largest exporters to Iraq, according to official data, are Turkey and China, pointing out that there are a number of products imported by Iraq from these two countries, Jordan can increase its exports and benefit from the apparent comparative advantage of the quality of its products and its location near Iraq to increase competition In the Iraqi market. He reviewed the hypothetical scenarios in the event of Iraq reducing its imports from those countries and increasing its imports from Jordan in products of quality and added value, indicating the positive impact on the balance of trade and restoring the momentum of exporting Jordan to its previous levels. 

On the services sector, Saif pointed out that the sector has a high comparative advantage in light of the availability of promising Jordanian competencies, especially in the financial and engineering sector, indicating that there is a great opportunity for the engineering sector to increase its exports to the Iraqi market, which will in turn reflect positively on increasing job opportunities among engineers, Engineering, and create a role for Jordanian companies in the reconstruction phase. 

"The Iraqi market is a great market and represents an important opportunity for the Jordanian economic sectors, industrial and service sectors," Al-Salem said. "The Iraqi market is in dire need of Jordan's expertise and capabilities in various fields, especially services such as banking expertise, telecommunications services, contracting services and engineering services. . Al-Salem pointed out that entering the Iraqi market requires a great effort from the Jordanian private sector. This should include joining the Jordanian private sector with each other through the formation of sector coalitions between the Jordanian private sector companies to enter the Iraqi market by consolidating the capabilities of these financial and practical companies. Al-Salem said that many companies and institutions cannot enter the Iraqi market on their own but must cooperate with similar institutions within their sector and enter collectively. 

Dr. Fawzi Al-Hammouri, President of the Private Hospitals Association, said that Iraq is a special priority for Jordanian hospitals. The Iraqi patients are the most nationalized to receive treatment in Jordanian hospitals. Al-Hammouri pointed out that the Ministry of Tourism works in cooperation with the Association of Private Hospitals Iraq to come for treatment in Jordan. 

The participants discussed the challenges facing Jordan and Iraq and the opportunities to strengthen them, as well as opportunities to promote promising sectors such as construction, the IT sector and the health sector.

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