Abu Dhabi[UAE],November 1: The UAE and Jordan have maintained close ties for more than half a century, at both government and people-to-people levels.The two nations share strong bonds established by their late leaders, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and King Hussein bin Talal.
The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is one of the first countries that recognised the establishment of the United Arab Emirates. This happened the day after the announcement of the UAE Federation's founding on December 2, 1971. On December 3, the Jordanian government recognised the United Arab Emirates, welcomed the establishment of full bilateral diplomatic relations, and opened the Jordanian embassy in Abu Dhabi in 1972. The UAE embassy in Amman opened in 1973.
The two countries continue to strengthen bilateral relations through continuous channels of dialogue and high-level meetings between the two sides, including the Joint Economic Committee between, as well as the signing of numerous agreements and memoranda of understanding in various areas of cooperation.
The relations between the two countries are characterised by a high degree of compatibility and harmony in their positions on Arab, Islamic, and humanitarian issues of common interest, and a shared vision for peace, stability, and prosperity in the region.
The leadership of the two countries is keen to continue coordination and consultation on issues of common interest and on regional and global developments, in a way that supports efforts to achieve security, stability, and sustainable development.
The two nations attach great importance to strengthening regional development partnerships that benefit the peoples of the region and achieve stability, progress, and prosperity for them.
The relations between the two countries are a model to be emulated at the Arab level, being based on renewed forms of cooperation and shared commitment to enhancing its horizons and working together to achieve the aspirations of the two countries and their brotherly peoples.
The distinguished relations between the two countries extend to include military cooperation, where there is a Joint Defence Cooperation Committee that meets annually. The two countries have signed two agreements and seven memoranda of understanding in the defence fields.
The two countries are also linked by distinguished economic and investment relations, where several agreements, memoranda of understanding, and economic, trade, and investment protocols have been signed that have contributed to strengthening bilateral relations, and increasing trade and investment volumes.
Since the launch of the development drive in the United Arab Emirates, the Jordanian community of professionals working in various fields has made significant contributions to developmental projects. Over 200,000 Jordanians have made a home for themselves in the UAE, where they live in peace and harmony with their Emirati people.
The levels of trade exchange between the two brotherly countries have witnessed continuous growth, with the volume of non-oil trade hitting AED16.5 billion ($4.5 billion) in 2022, 47.4% up on 2021, while the volume of non-oil UAE exports and re-exports reached about AED14.7 billion ($4 billion) in 2022.
Abu Dhabi Fund for Development and the Government of Jordan have a distinguished partnership, where the Fund has contributed to financing many development projects in the Kingdom worth AED6.5 billion, covering many vital sectors, including education, health, transportation, energy, agriculture, irrigation, housing, infrastructure projects, and other strategic projects.
For its part, the AD Ports Group signed in 202a a Heads of Terms agreement with the Aqaba Development Corporation to establish of a state-of-the-art cruise terminal at MarsaZayed in Aqaba.
Last year, the announcement of an integrated industrial partnership between the United Arab Emirates, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the Arab Republic of Egypt, and the Kingdom of Bahrain was witnessed, which embodies the keenness of the UAE to enhance industrial integration with Arab countries and the world, and will lead to enabling industrial development in the three countries, diversifying the economy, and providing promising opportunities for future generations. The partnership included the allocation of an investment fund managed by ADQ worth $10 billion to invest in projects emerging from this partnership in the agreed sectors.
Source: Emirates News Agency