Industrialists lay out hurdles to Jordan-Iraq trade

Amman: Industrialists Saturday identified numerous obstacles standing in the way of increased Jordanian exports to Iraq, top of which is customs duties, delays in bank transfers and visa procedures. During a meeting at the Amman Chamber of Industry, they pointed to other challenges, mainly protectionism by the Iraqi side, multiple and high inspection fees and border delays. They warned that persistent trade challenges would undermine opportunities to achieve economic integration and launch joint ventures, stressing that efforts should be stepped up to overcome these hurdles and promote joint projects, given the strong relations between the two countries at various levels. Fathi Jaghbir, Amman and Jordan Chambers of Industry President, said the chambers will prepare a matrix of key trade hindrances that will be followed up with concerned authorities and reach out to the Iraqi side to find solutions. He said Iraq is a key economic partner of Jordan, pointing to enormous and vast prospects for cooperation be tween the private sector in both countries towards achieving industrial integration between them. For his part, member of the Iraqi Business Council Board of Directors in Amman, Ahmad Al-Amili, pointed out that Jordanian products are popular in the Iraqi market due to their quality, adding that Iraq is currently witnessing a major economic "renaissance" across many sectors. Iraqi Business Council CEO Abeer Al-Naib announced that the Economic Forum for Financial, Industrial and Commercial Partnerships between Iraq, Jordan and the region, in cooperation with the Jordan and Amman Chambers of Industry, will be held in May 5-6 at the King Hussein Bin Talal Convention Center in the Dead Sea. She said the forum will tackle key trade obstacles between the two countries, calling it a real opportunity to enhance economic and trade ties, promote investment opportunities, and launch joint ventures. The volume of trade (exports and imports) between Jordan and Iraq was at JD833 million in 2023, including JD637 million Jordanian exports. Source: Jordan News Agency