ACC Discusses Strengthening Trade and Investment Cooperation with Bangladesh

19/12/2024

The Vice Chairman of the Amman Chamber of Commerce, Nabil Al-Khatib, called for increased efforts to elevate the trade relations between Jordan and Bangladesh and expand joint projects that serve economic interests, as well as to explore the investment environment and projects in both friendly countries.

This came during his meeting at the Chamber's premises with the Ambassador of the People's Republic of Bangladesh to Jordan, Noor Helal Seif Rahman. The discussions focused on the importance of developing new avenues for the economic relations between the two countries, strengthening cooperation at the private sector level, expanding bilateral trade exchanges, and enhancing collaboration opportunities, especially in promising sectors.

According to a press release from the Chamber, the two sides discussed mechanisms for strengthening bilateral cooperation, particularly in economic areas, and ways to build on this cooperation to achieve mutual interests. They emphasized the importance of developing economic relations, particularly in enhancing mutual investment and encouraging cooperation between the private sectors of Jordan and Bangladesh, highlighting the strong ties between the two friendly nations.

Both sides pointed out the significant potential for enhancing tourism cooperation, especially given the many tourist and religious sites in both countries. They also explored possible ways to encourage tourism between the two nations and the potential to connect tourism and travel agencies from both countries to promote their tourism industries.

During the meeting, attended by board members Alaa Al-Din Derania and Amjad Al-Sweilemin, Al-Khatib pointed out that the trade exchanges between the two countries remain modest. He expressed hope for improving the level of trade between them, noting that the trade volume in the first nine months of 2024 reached approximately 24 million Jordanian dinars.

He also mentioned that the main Jordanian exports to Bangladesh in 2023, by value, included chemical products, mineral products, and processed food products. The key imports from Bangladesh to Jordan in 2023, by value, were textiles, clothing, ready-made food products, and plant-based products.

Al-Khatib called for activating the trade agreements between the Amman Chamber of Commerce and its counterpart in Bangladesh, exchanging trade delegations, and organizing joint trade exhibitions to enhance trade relations and capitalize on available investment opportunities. He also emphasized the importance of exploring the new investment environment laws and investment projects in both countries.

For his part, the Ambassador of Bangladesh highlighted the importance the Bangladeshi government places on developing bilateral relations with Jordan and strengthening cooperation across all fields.

Ambassador Seif Rahman expressed his appreciation for the Chamber's role and the ongoing efforts to enhance economic cooperation and move bilateral relations to a new level. He emphasized the importance of building on existing relations to contribute to increasing trade and investment exchanges between the two nations.

The Ambassador also pointed out that Bangladesh has numerous tourist attractions, including adventure tourism and religious tourism, which could attract Jordanian visitors. He added that Bangladesh offers outstanding products, such as Bengali tea, which is considered among the best globally, in addition to ceramics and fabric products, which could present opportunities for trade between the two countries.

For their part, the Chamber's board members emphasized the need for cooperation between the private sectors of both countries in all other commercial sectors and discovering economic and investment opportunities in key areas that could help develop trade exchanges.

They also called on business owners in Jordan and Bangladesh to establish strong partnerships to elevate trade between the two countries, especially as both have significant capabilities and potentials to achieve this.

Meanwhile, the Chamber’s Director General, Ghaleb Hejazi, stressed the need to connect with the Amman Chamber of Commerce to help promote products from both countries and the importance of exchanging market information between the two nations. He confirmed that the Chamber is ready to circulate information about products made in Bangladesh to Jordanian traders and importers through the Chamber's website.