Islamabad, MAY 25 /DNA/ – Jordanian Ambassador to Pakistan Ibrahim Al-Madani visited FPCCI Capital Office Islamabad yesterday and met Vice President FPCCI Umar Masood-ur-Rehman and Chairman Coordination Mirza Abdul Rehman and discussed Bilateral trade and various issues including investment promotion.

Jordanian Ambassador Ibrahim Al-Madani said that he is committed to provide all possible facilities to Pakistani businessmen in joint ventures, including finding investment opportunities in Jordan. He further said that Jordan has strong and historic relations with Pakistan based on mutual respect and common values. “We intend to enhance our bilateral trade relations by intensifying our engagement with the private sector in Pakistan,” he said. The most important way to increase bilateral trade is through business-to-business cooperation and people-to-people contacts. He said that in the coming months there would be high-level visits by trade delegations. The two countries will not reap the benefits unless both sides show interest. The ambassador said that Pakistani products that can be exported to Jordan include fabrics, garments and agricultural seeds. , machinery and spare parts, oil, juice, cotton, fiber optics, paper, leather and many more. Jordan exports to Pakistan fertilizers, iron, pharmaceuticals, plastics, processed food products, some agricultural products and machinery.

FPCCI Vice President Umar Masood-ur-Rehman thanked Jordanian Ambassador Ibrahim Al-Madani for visiting the FPCCI Capital Office and said that we have a long history of bilateral trade while the volume of trade is very small. He drew the attention of the Jordanian Ambassador to the Special Economic Zones of Pakistan and said that Jordanian companies could reap the full benefits by setting up their own manufacturing plants in Pakistan as labor in Pakistan is much cheaper than in Jordan. He said that in order to remove trade barriers and increase trade volume, the business community of both the countries must be brought closer.

Umar Masood-ur-Rehman added that there are excellent investment opportunities for Jordanian investors in various sectors of Pakistan’s economy, including energy, tourism, information technology, food processing, agriculture, dairy development, furniture, hotel industry and development of tourist destinations. Therefore, Jordanian investors should take full advantage of these opportunities. Former President of Islamabad Small Chamber and Convener of FPCCI Standing Committee on Real Estate Tahir Arain, President of Haripur Chamber Muhammad Saleem Awan, Vice President Malik Umair Khalid and Group Leader of Islamabad Chamber Abid Khan and others were also present on the occasion.

Mirza Abdul Rehman Chairman Coordination FPCCI Capital Office Islamabad while talking to the Ambassador of Jordan said that promotion of bilateral trade between Pakistan and Jordan is necessary, increasing the volume of trade between the two countries needs time. He said that there are vast investment opportunities in Pakistan and promotion of bilateral trade between Pakistan and Jordan is necessary. He further said that Pakistan has immense investment opportunities in oil, gas and minerals sectors besides tourism. The experience of Jordan’s tourism sector can be used for development in the sector. Finally, Omar Masood-ur-Rehman and Mirza Abdul Rehman presented the FPCCI shield to the Jordanian Ambassador.