Saqqaf, Saudi industry minister discuss investment cooperation

Amman: Minister of Investment, Kholoud Saqqaf, on Thursday discussed with Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Alkhorayef and his accompanying delegation, ways to enhance joint cooperation in the investment field. According to a ministry statement, Saqqaf stressed "deep-rooted, strong" bilateral relations in various fields, especially in economic and investment areas, noting that Saudi investments are among the "largest" foreign investments in Jordan. Saqqaf said Saudi Arabia ranks first in terms of the number of non-Jordanian investors in Amman Stock Exchange (ASE), as their number stood at 2,337 investors as companies and individuals, with an investment volume of $1.55 billion, distributed across multiple sectors. The minister also indicated Jordan's aspiration to attract additional Saudi investments in the Kingdom and build "constructive" partnerships that serve common interests. Referring to Jordan's reforms to enhance its investment environment, she said this effort was primarily approval of Investment Environment Law and the related legislation and regulations, and Public-Private Partnership Projects Law. The minister added that Jordan also launched an Investment Promotion Strategy that targets many countries aimed to attract investments, as the strategy put Saudi market as one of the "most important target" destinations for this purpose. Additionally, she touched on the national economic indicators that witnessed improvement over the past year along several paths, primarily achieving satisfactory economic growth rates, recording inflation levels that are the "lowest," compared to countries regionally and globally, and providing "comfortable" foreign currency reserves. Saqqaf pointed to the recent rating by Moody's, which raised Jordan's credit rating from (B1) to (BA3) with a stable future outlook, which contributes to enhance and support Jordan's position as an "attractive and safe" destination for investments. During the meeting, Saqqaf reviewed 36 investment opportunities lau nched by the ministry through "Invest in Jordan invest.jo" platform, with a total value of JD1.4 billion, in addition to partnership projects between the public and private sectors. Meanwhile, Alkhorayef praised Jordan's efforts through Ministry of Investment in improving its business environment, stressing the importance of joint cooperation between the two ministries to exchange expertise and build strategies aimed at enhancing mutual investment exchange. He said Jordan has "distinguished" expertise in many investment sectors, mainly drugs, information technology, and mining, reviewing plans and strategies of the Saudi Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources aimed at building an industrial base capable of exporting. Source: Jordan News Agency