JCI head, AFESD discuss economic cooperation

Head of Jordan Chamber of Industry (JCI), Fathi Jaghbir, discussed with Chairman of Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD), Bader Mohammad al-Saad, ways to enhance joint relations and explore new investment horizons to serve Jordan's economy, especially the Kingdom's industrial sector. Jaghbir, who is also Chairman of Amman Chamber of Industry, stressed the importance of the fund's role in supporting small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Arab countries, referring to Jordanian industrial sector's contributions on the economic and social levels and its ability to lead and achieve growth in Jordan over the past years. Jaghbir also briefed AFESD's chief on JCI's role as a "fundamental" pillar in supporting the national economy and generating job opportunities. Industry, he noted, plays a "key" role as the driver of Jordan's employment and economic growth, which has "utmost" capability to lead the Kingdom's economic recovery phase with its contribution of about 45% to the domestic product and of fers operational capabilities. In this regard, Jaghbir added that employment in industry constitutes a quarter of Jordan's workforce, which amounts to over 268,000 workers. The two parties went over means of joint cooperation and the mechanism of supporting Jordan's industrial projects, according to a JCI statement. Moreover, the two sides reviewed the available opportunities to expand the scope of bank's support to Jordan's industrial projects and discussed mechanism to enhance capabilities of Jordanian industrial companies to increase their productivity and expand the scope of their work, the statement pointed out. Meanwhile, the fund's delegation highlighted its "new" strategy, which focuses on a "more realistic" vision of supporting the private sector, affirming the necessity of strengthening "true" partnerships with the private and banking sectors to support and empower projects that generate "high" revenues and raise employment rates, especially for women. Source: Jordan News Agency