Jordanian minister lauds ties with Egypt

The Jordanian Minister of Industry, Maha Ali, has said that relations with Egypt are progressing at all levels.

Amman and Cairo have "strategic" and "historical" ties, Ali said in statements to MENA correspondent here Wednesday.

The Egyptian and Jordanian markets very much complement and depend on each other, Ali said.

The Egyptian-Jordanian Higher Committee is one of the most important Arab committees in terms of efforts exerted in the different fields.

Ali said she and Egypt's Minister of International Cooperation co-chaired preparatory meetings for the joint committee Tuesday night to discuss means by which to increase the volume of trade exchange.

Contacts are ongoing between the Jordanian and Egyptian governments to outline initiatives to increase the volume of trade exchange, the minister added.

She said the volume of trade between the two Arab countries reached 656.5 million dollars in 2014, which is 24-percent down from 817.8 million reached in the year before. "This figure is far below our ambitions," Ali told MENA.

Trade during the first quarter of this year amounted to 136.9 million dollars down from 187.6 million during the same period last year, Ali said, adding this is a 27-percent decline.

Both the public and private sectors here and in Cairo should act to prevent a repeat of such drop, the minister urged.

The private sectors should be given a complete chance to contribute to outlining economic cooperation programs and plans, Ali said.

Ten agreements and memorandums of understanding have already been reached, as well as implementation programs to boost cooperation between the two countries, she noted.