● The Minister of International Cooperation expresses her aspiration that the meetings of the 31st session of the Joint Committee will yield more areas of joint cooperation.
● Al-Mashat: The Government of Egypt is keen to increase bilateral relations with Jordan to broader horizons on the economic, commercial and investment levels.
● The Minister of International Cooperation thanks the delegations of experts from both countries for the efforts exerted to prepare for the committee.
● The Jordanian Minister affirms the importance of the Jordanian-Egyptian relations and the keenness to advance cooperation in a way that reflects the development and prosperity of the two countries.
● The preparatory meetings agree on a number of joint cooperation documents in several areas, including health, the environment, employment and culture.
● Emphasizing the importance of exchanging experiences in the field of green hydrogen and promoting visits and discussions between business forums and the private sector to explore investment opportunities.
The Egyptian Minister of International Cooperation H.E. Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat & Jordanian Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply Mr. Yousef Mahmoud Al Shamal chaired the preparatory meetings at the ministerial level for the Egyptian-Jordanian Joint Higher Committee, in its thirty-first session, in Amman, Jordan. This comes in light of the close relations that unite the two countries and the continuous discussions to expand the scope of cooperation and common development objectives.
The two ministers reviewed the most important things agreed upon during the preparatory meetings in preparation, ahead of the convening of the Joint Higher Committee, chaired by the Prime Ministers of the two countries; reaching an agreement on a number of cooperation documents that enhance joint efforts for development in the two brotherly countries, especially in employment, health, environment, culture, financial control, and other fields.
The heads of the Egyptian and Jordanian expert delegations also presented a brief report on the details of the expert meetings and what was discussed and views were exchanged during the preparatory meetings, as well as the areas of cooperation that were discussed.
During the meeting, held virtually, Al-Mashat thanked the Jordanian government for facilitating the hosting of expert meetings that preceded the ministerial meeting of the Egyptian-Jordanian joint committee, expressing her aspiration that the committee would produce more areas of joint cooperation and documents that enhance cooperation between the two countries. The two cooperation between both countries is reflected in the high volume of trade exchange and the increase in investments.
The Minister of International Cooperation referred to the directives of H.E. President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on the need for continuous work to push bilateral relations with Jordan, reflecting the common vision between the two countries and the mutual visits between the leaders, emphasizing the historical relations and close ties at the cultural, religious and national levels.
Al-Mashat explained that the joint Egyptian-Jordanian Higher Committee is one of the most important coordination and cooperation mechanisms to enhance bilateral cooperation, as well as tripartite cooperation between Egypt, Jordan and Iraq. This provides more opportunities for cooperation in light of the global economic challenges, including regionally and in the African continent.
For his part, H.E. Al-Shamali, head of the Jordanian side in the ministerial preparatory meetings, stressed the importance of the Jordanian-Egyptian relations and the keenness of his country to advance and enhance cooperation on the economic, commercial and investment levels, which will reflect on the development and prosperity of both countries.
In the same context, the preparatory meetings witnessed an agreement to activate a number of memorandums of understanding and agreements previously signed to advance Egyptian-Jordanian relations, including the memorandum of understanding in the field of consumer protection, the memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the establishment and management of industrial zones, and the memorandum of understanding for administrative and technical cooperation in the field of free zones and development zones, and a memorandum of understanding in the field of roads and bridges.
The committee also stressed the importance of exchanging experiences in the field of green hydrogen and benefiting from the Egyptian experience, enhancing cooperation in the field of natural gas, emphasizing the importance of mutual participation in international exhibitions, providing the necessary facilities for the participation of private sector companies, and stimulating mutual visits between businessmen, investors and companies to present investment opportunities in both countries.
Economic relations between Egypt and Jordan have witnessed remarkable development over the past years, reaching close to $1 billion by the end of 2022. The private sectors of the two countries also contribute to pushing investments in various fields, especially energy, legal investment, financial services, information technology, tourism, and other fields.
The 30th session of the Egyptian-Jordanian Joint Higher Committee was held in February 2022, chaired by H.E. Dr. Mostafa Madbouly, Prime Minister of Egypt, and H.E. Dr. Bisher Khasawneh, Prime Minister of Jordan. The joint committee witnessed the signing of the first memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the field of logistical areas, and a memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the field of agriculture. It also included an executive program in the field of higher education, the executive program for cooperation between the two sides in the field of youth for the 2022-2024, and a cooperation protocol between the two sides in the media field.
It is worth noting that the Egyptian-Jordanian Joint Higher Committee is the most regular of the joint committees in convening since its launch in 1985, to play a major role in strengthening joint relations at all levels between Egypt and Jordan, where 30 sessions were held over the course of four decades. It has dozens of documents in various fields that have greatly reflected on the indicators of economic, commercial, investment and cultural cooperation between the two countries. Moreover, a number of technical committees in various fields emerged from this committee to regulate the progress of work and solve all obstacles that may impede efforts to strengthen joint cooperation relations.