Irbid, June 3 (Petra) – The Irbid Chamber of Industry (ICI) held a high-level economic meeting today, Wednesday, with a diplomatic delegation from the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Amman, led by Alvan Amiruddin, to explore avenues for expanding bilateral trade and cross-border investment between northern Jordan’s business community and Indonesia.

ICI Director General Nidal Al-Sadr highlighted the historical and fraternal ties linking Jordan and Indonesia, which continue to be strengthened by the strategic directives of both nations' leaderships to develop economic partnerships across diverse sectors.

Al-Sadr provided a comprehensive overview of the strong performance and qualitative leaps achieved by Irbid’s industrial sector. He disclosed that the chamber’s total aggregate exports reached $1.2 billion in 2025, booking a growth rate of 4.3 percent. This upward momentum accelerated sharply into the first quarter of 2026, with exports hitting approximately $265.4 million – a 10.5 percent year-on-year expansion compared to Q1 2025.

Detailing the proportional distribution of Irbid’s industrial output, Al-Sadr noted that the leather and garment sector continues to command the largest share, accounting for over 87 percent of total exports ($232 million in Q1 2026). The food and agricultural processing sector followed, generating $18 million and registering an impressive 29 percent growth rate. Furthermore, the pharmaceutical and medical industries recorded an exponential surge in foreign demand and export volume. Al-Sadr emphasized that the Al-Hassan Industrial Estate hosts the vast majority of these capital investments, accounting for 95.6 percent of the total.

On bilateral trade dynamics, Al-Sadr reported that Jordan’s total exports to Indonesia stand at approximately $170.8 million annually, representing 18.7 percent of the total $913 million bilateral trade volume. He lauded the long-standing strategic joint venture in the phosphate and chemical fertilizer sector between the Jordan Phosphate Mines Company (JPMC) and Indonesia’s PT Petrokimia Gresik as an inspiring blueprint that should be replicated with Irbid-based manufacturers.

Al-Sadr invited the Indonesian diplomatic corps and corporate entities to leverage the competitive advantages, investor protections, and fiscal incentives offered under Jordan’s new Investment Environment Law. He affirmed ICI’s readiness to facilitate all administrative and logistical tracks to establish joint ventures within Irbid's industrial zones, balancing the trade deficit and driving mutual economic growth.

For his part, Amiruddin praised the advanced technical standards and global reputation enjoyed by Jordanian industries, particularly those based in Irbid.

He reiterated the Indonesian Embassy’s commitment to dismantling non-tariff barriers and establishing direct channels of communication between the respective business communities. Amiruddin underscored that the massive Indonesian market, which comprises roughly 287.2 million consumers, offers vast unexploited trade and investment frontiers, particularly for pharmaceutical exports, ready-made garments, and Halal-certified food products.

//Petra// AA