AMMAN —
Jordanian exports to Canada increased by an annual average of 21.75% in the
past 25 years, from $885,000 in 1997 to $121.4 million in 2021, according to
the Jordan News Agency, Petra.
اضافة اعلان
The comments were
made by
Canadian Ambassador Donica Pottie, who said Canadian exports to Jordan
in the same period only increased by an average of 5.76%.
In 2021, Canada
exported only $59.7 million worth of products to Jordan.
In an interview
with Petra on Saturday, which coincides with Canada National Day, the envoy
said Jordan is the only Arab country with which Canada has a
free trade agreement (FTA), which came into force in 2012.
Additionally, the
two friendly countries also have agreements in labor cooperation, avoiding
dual- taxation, environmental protection and promoting investments.
On the FTA, there
is a lot of untapped potential, the ambassador said. For the past three years,
she said the embassy has promoted the FTA with the objective of increasing
bilateral trade.
The embassy, she
pointed out, has conducted webinars and in-person seminars in Amman,
Aqaba, and
in Canada, to increase awareness of the FTA, and promote opportunities to
business people on both sides.
Canada is supporting Jordanian small and medium
enterprises (SME), and manufacturers through the Trade Facilitation Office
(TFO), which held two workshops in Amman to help Jordanian exporters and
empower businesswomen improve their capabilities to export to Canada and to
other markets, she pointed out.
The embassy has
been cooperating with the Aqaba Specialized Economic Zone and
Aqaba Development Corporation to highlight the importance of Aqaba port as an excellent hub and
entry point to Middle-Eastern markets, for Canadian exporters. This is starting
to yield some positive results, she noted.
In 2016, Canada
stepped up its support to Jordan to help the Kingdom cope with an influx of
refugees caused by the war in Syria, and bolstered its efforts to combat and
prevent violent extremism and terrorist threats posed by Daesh, Pottie said.
Between 2016 and
2022, Canada invested more than $4 billion to respond to the crises in Iraq and
Syria, and address their impact on Lebanon, Jordan and the region, the
ambassador explained.
She said the plan
included supporting Jordan’s efforts to build the resilience of individuals,
communities and institutions through better access to quality education,
sustainable economic growth, with a focus on economic reform and the
empowerment of women and youth, and inclusive governance, including improved
municipal services.
Canada has
committed over $575.7 million for Jordan since 2016. The amount includes $298
million in development assistance, $209.8 million in humanitarian assistance,
and $67.9 million in civilian stabilization and security assistance, she added.
Jordan has had an
embassy in Canada since 1975, nearly 11 years after diplomatic relations were
established between the two countries. From 1964 until 1982 ambassadors of
Canada to Jordan were resident in Lebanon, but Ottawa has since grown its
operations and mission staff in Jordan three fold, she noted.
Jordan is a key
partner for Canada in the
Middle East and the two countries have a longstanding
friendship built over decades, Pottie said.
Canada and Jordan
also share strong people-to-people links through the Jordanian-Canadian
community, Jordanian students in Canada, and Canadians living and working in
Jordan.
Canada commends the
work of
His Majesty King Abdullah in establishing the Aqaba Process to enhance
international coordination and cooperation in countering terrorism and
extremism, she noted.
“It is a useful
mechanism to coordinate efforts both inside the region and beyond, recognizing
that this is a global threat,” she said. “The Aqaba Process has made important
contributions to global efforts. For example, it identified early on issues
with social media and then held meetings in California with the major
platforms.”
Additionally, she
noted the process was also the first fora to hold a meeting on the ways extremism
could try to use the pandemic to further their goals.
Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau was pleased to accept His Majesty’s invitation to attend the
virtual Aqaba Process heads of state and government meeting in 2020, she
pointed out.
Ottawa’s partnership with Jordan includes funding
from Canada’s Counter-Terrorism Capacity Building Program. A Canadian Armed
Forces Training Assistance Team is based in Jordan to support capacity-building
in the
Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army (JAF).
Other initiatives
to support the JAF include a rehabilitated military border road that covers
over 63km and 11 renovated border towers along the Jordan-Syria frontier, she
noted.
Canada is also
delivering specialized firearms, search and medical training to build the
capacity of female police officers in critical incident response. This
initiative, delivered alongside technical assistance to the Gender Unit within
Jordan’s
Public Security Directorate, supports Jordan’s National Action Plan
for advancing the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on
Women, Peace and Security, she added.
Canada is committed
to supporting Jordan’s capacity to provide internal security and defend its
borders, the ambassador said, adding that Canada and Jordan signed a memorandum
of understanding on defense cooperation in the spring of 2012 and both
countries’ armies have a close relationship.
Pottie maintained
that the memos on preventing the spread of weapons of mass destruction and
related materials, and on increasing security and stabilization cooperation
were signed in 2013 and 2016 respectively.
Canada and Jordan
are both founding supporters of the “Christchurch Call to Action to Eliminate
Terrorist and Violent Extremist Content Online,” she said.
On refuges, she
said Jordan’s hosting a large number of refugees places enormous pressures on
its infrastructure and services. Jordan has been generous in supporting the
Palestinians, Iraqi and, more recently, Syrian refugees.
Canada, she noted,
appreciates Jordan’s generosity and is contributing to Jordan’s investment in
education, health and job creation, for both refugees and host communities.
Through development
and humanitarian assistance programs, Canada supports Jordan’s efforts to
provide a safe haven for over 660,000 registered Syrian refugees, who have
taken sanctuary in the country, according to the envoy.
Canada is a
resettlement country and Jordan offers a safe environment from which families
can be processed for resettlement in Canada, according to Pottie.
On Canada’s
position on the
Palestinian issue, the Jordanian role in regards to peace
efforts, and the Hashemite guardianship over holy shrines in Jerusalem, she
said Canada supports a two-state solution, and the Jordan’s custodianship over
Jerusalem’s sanctities.
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