AMMAN —
Romania’s Ambassador to Jordan George Cristian Maior Tuesday told the Jordan
News Agency, Petra, that the high level of stability and a modern
entrepreneurial sector make Jordan a regional hub for investment, “a strategic
pivot in the
Middle East and one of the closest partners of the US and the
transatlantic community in this complex and important region”.
اضافة اعلان
Speaking on the
occasion of Romania’s National Day, observed each year on December 1, the
ambassador said "we are keen to contribute to enhancing our cooperation,
with a special focus on such fields as security, agriculture, investment and
trade, energy, transport and infrastructure, ICT, medicine, research and
education, as well as people-to-people contacts".
The envoy
highlighted the relations between Romania and Jordan, two countries with “a
long history of political, economic and cultural cooperation that has been
permanently enhanced over the past 56 years of diplomatic ties”, and expressed
appreciation for the Kingdom’s “role and intense efforts in the region, and its
balanced and moderate approach”, which make it a “significant partner in the
Middle East”.
"Romania has
always voiced support for the Kingdom’s aspirations for closer cooperation with
the EU, including through the opportunities offered by the innovative new
Agenda for the Mediterranean. We also support a closer cooperation with
NATO.
Romania commends the importance of joint work with Jordan in the global fight
against international terrorism," said Maior, hailing the longstanding,
and continued, cooperation with the Kingdom, where Romanian companies are
currently involved in the development of Jordan’s electricity grid, among
others.
"In August
2021, the volume of bilateral trade increased by 72.37 percent over the same
period last year, with Romania ranking among the first 15 countries exporting
to the Kingdom and third among EU members states, with cereals and live animals
as main products," said Maior, noting that the total investment of the
nearly 3,500 Romania-registered companies that have Jordanian capital reached
last month almost $28.5 million, “which proves that Romania offers a favorable
and friendly business environment for Jordanian investors”.
In the field of
tourism, Maior said that over the years, Jordan became one of the top Middle
East destinations for Romanian citizens; 2019 registered a peak, as more than
15,000 Romanian tourists visited the Kingdom.
"Even during
the difficult times of
COVID-19 pandemic, Romanian travel agencies were among
the first foreign entities to organize trips to the Kingdom, with several
weekly direct flights," said the envoy, voicing hope that the sector will
grow in the two nations’ interest. Both have great cultural heritage sites
recognized by international bodies such as
UNESCO, added the envoy.
Regarding
scientific and academic cooperation, the envoy highlighted cooperation in
higher education; more than 10
Erasmus Plus agreements were signed with
different Jordanian universities, and "the two sides are collaborating
based on the Program of Cooperation in education for 2019, under which the
Romanian government has increased the number of scholarships for Jordanian
students to more than 50 yearly for bachelor, master and PhD degrees; the
Romanian education system is well known and very much appreciated in
Jordan."
The Romanian
community in Jordan stands at over 5,000, and more than 14,000 Jordanians
studied in Romania during the last decades, “which truly represents the deep
ties between the two countries”, said the envoy.
"Therefore,
we will continue supporting the different cultural programs, one of which aims
to start a Romanian language course," he said.
Maior also
emphasized Romania’s traditional, constant, stance and support for the
implementation of the two-state solution, and the need to implement
confidence-building measures to facilitate the resumption of direct dialogue
between Palestinians and Israelis, stressing Romanian authorities' willingness
to contribute to the international community's efforts to see direct
negotiations resumed and to generate the conditions necessary for achieving
“this strategic and important goal”.
During a visit to
Petra Tuesday, where the Romanian flag was hoisted alongside the Jordanian flag
in front of the Treasury to commemorate the national day, the envoy held a
meeting with Chief Commissioner of the
Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority Suleiman Farajat, discussing ways to enhance cooperation in the areas
of tourism and development.
Read more Business
