Amman, Sept 12 (Petra) – Jordan and Amman Chambers of Commerce Chairman, Senator Khalil Al-Haj Tawfiq, said on Saturday that an upcoming Jordan-EU Investment Conference is a key milestone in advancing economic relations between the Kingdom and EU nations, and forging deeper economic partnerships that go beyond the scope of traditional trade ties.

The trade and services sectors view the upcoming phase of relations with the EU with great optimism, anticipating a focus on increasing Jordanian exports, attracting high-quality investments, and more broadly integrating local companies into European markets and value chains, he told Petra in an interview.

The conference, scheduled for November 19, is partof the comprehensive strategic partnership between Jordan and the EU, which was launched early last year.

In late January, 2025, His Majesty King Abdullah II and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen witnessed the signing of the comprehensive strategic partnership agreement between Jordan and the EU in Brussels. To support the agreement's objectives, the EU announced a financial and investment aid package worth €3 billion for the 2025–2027 period.

The conference will showcase promising investment opportunities in the Kingdom and explore prospects for partnership and cooperation across several priority sectors, notably renewable energy, clean technologies, the digital economy, industry, logistics, and infrastructure.

"We hope to see, following the conference, new investments, partnerships between Jordanian and European companies, and new contracts and export opportunities, as well as the European interest in the Kingdom translated into tangible projects on the ground," said Al-Haj Tawfiq, who is also First Vice Chairman of the Arab-French Chamber of Commerce.

The conference should mark the start of a sustainable economic path through identifying the opportunities and projects to be presented, connecting European investors with Jordanian companies, following up on business meetings, and establishing a mechanism to track the outcomes achieved, he stressed.

He said the Jordanian private sector will play its part in this process, and that joint action is needed by the government, chambers of commerce and industry, private sector institutions, and the European side to identify actionable opportunities and pursue them according to clear timelines.

According to Chamber of Commerce data, based on Department of Statistics figures, Jordanian exports to European Union countries rose from JD179 million in 2021 to JD624 million last year, a growth rate of 248.4 percent, bringing the export volume to approximately three and a half times the level recorded in 2021.

Conversely, imports were up from JD2.718 billion to JD3.163 billion during the same period, growing by 16.4 percent, meaning the growth rate of Jordanian exports to the EU outpaced that of imports by a factor of 15.

Regarding the most recent annual comparison, Jordanian exports to EU countries rose by 39.3 percent, climbing from JD448 million to JD624 million, while imports were up by 10.6 percent, rising from JD2.861 billion to JD3.163 billion.

Al-Haj Tawfiq said the figures reflect a significant improvement in the ability of Jordanian products to access European markets.

He said the private sector has ample opportunity to expand its presence in a market that ranks among the largest and most powerful globally, in terms of purchasing power.

//Petra//SS