UAE, Jordan discuss elevating trade and investment relations

Staff Reporter, Gulf Today

Dr. Thani Bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, has held talks in Amman with Bisher Al-Khasawneh, Prime Minister of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, to discuss ways to enhance trade and investment relations and develop opportunities for constructive cooperation between the nations’ respective private sectors.

In his meeting with the Prime Minister, Dr. Thani Al Zeyoudi emphasized that the UAE and Jordan share a common vision to build agile, adaptable economies based on innovation, knowledge and the free flow of trade. The two countries are also keen to deepen bilateral relations in core areas such as industry, energy and transportation, and advance the objectives of the Industrial Partnership for Sustainable Economic Growth signed by the UAE, Jordan and Egypt in May, 2022. They also discussed preparations for the World Trade Organisation’s 13th Ministerial Conference, which the UAE is hosting in February, and agreed to advance the cause of open, rules-based trade.

During the visit, Dr. Thani Al Zeyoudi also met Yousef Al-Shamali, Jordan’s Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply, during which they reviewed UAE-Jordan trade, which is witnessing continued momentum. In 2022, non-oil bilateral trade reached $4.5 billion, an increase of more than 47% compared to 2021 and more than double the value recorded in 2020. In the first half of 2023, bilateral trade flows exceeded US$2 billion.

Of the visit, Dr Thani said: “The deep, long-standing fraternal relations between His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates, and His Majesty King Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein of Jordan, have contributed to strengthening of economic, cultural and strategic ties between our two nations. We are both committed to deepening cooperation to ensure a future that enables us both to achieve our long-term development objectives and deliver stability and opportunity for our people. This visit has demonstrated the mutual will to accelerate the trade and investment momentum between us and to provide more opportunities for our business communities in a range of high-potential sectors.”

Bisher Al-Khasawneh said: “Jordan greatly values our fraternal relationship with the United Arab Emirates. We are eager to explore greater collaboration in the areas of mutual benefit, particularly trade and investment but also the continued development of partnerships and joint ventures that serve the interests of both our nations. We look forward to supporting the UAE’s pro-trade agenda when they host the 13th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization, which comes in the wake of the highly successful Conference of the Parties on Climate Change in Dubai last month, which saw the announcement of many important initiatives from which the whole world will benefit.”

Jordan is UAE’s third-largest Arab trading partner outside the Gulf Cooperation Council, with a share of 8% of the UAE’s total non-oil foreign trade with Arab countries. The UAE is also Jordan’s fifth-most important trading partner globally, and the second-largest Arab partner after Saudi Arabia, with a 6.2% share of Jordan’s foreign trade.

In terms of investment, the UAE is the world’s leading investor in Jordan with a total commitment exceeding $4 billion by the end of 2020, which represents 14% of the total FDI flow into Jordan. In contrast, the value of Jordanian investments in the Emirates reached more than $1.6 billion by the end of 2021. The Kingdom is among the top 24 countries investing in the Emirates, and the sixth in the Arab world after Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Lebanon, Bahrain, and Qatar.

Meanwhile, AD Ports Group (ADX: ADPORTS), one of the world’s premier facilitators of logistics, industry, and trade, announces that Noatum Terminals, the terminals operations business of Noatum Group, has acquired 100% ownership of APM Terminals Castellón in Spain for a total purchase consideration (Enterprise Value - EV) of EUR 10 million.

The agreement, which was reached with APM Terminals, has obtained all regulatory and stakeholder approvals and the change of ownership will take place effective immediately. In parallel, a long-term agreement with the stevedoring union has been achieved which will assure stability and high productivity in the coming years.

Noatum Terminals’ investment in Castellón, where it has already been managing a multipurpose terminal since 2004, is part of its strategy to consolidate its position in Spain. The acquisition follows various improvements implemented at Noatum Terminal Castellón, aimed at modernising and maintaining existing facilities and equipment.

With the acquisition of APM Terminals, Noatum’s combined capacity at Castellón is 250,000m2 in size and an annual capacity to handle 250,000 TEUs, representing around 70% of the container volume capacity of the Port of Castellón.

Furthermore, the two terminals, which can also handle 2 million tonnes of bulk cargo alongside RoRo, are connected via direct rail links to the hinterland and serve the Mediterranean, Middle East, and North Africa regions.