Petra News Agency
Monday, March 22, 2004
Projects in Iraq will greatly benefit Jordan - Jones
AMMAN, March 22 (Petra) - Jordan is slated to benefit tremendously from the returns of economic projects currently being implemented within the framework of rebuilding Iraq, US deputy administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq and ambassador in Kuwait, Richard Jones, told a press conference on Sunday.
Speaking on the sidelines of “Second International Rebuilding Iraq Conference,” Jones said that most of the imported materials would mainly be brought via Jordan as Kuwaiti seaports have limited capacity and are incapable to handle the increasing pressures on them.
The US official urged Jordanian businessmen to seize the opportunity of the Jordan-hosted conference to establish partnership with their Iraqi counterparts. He also underlined the potential benefits of such cooperation.
Jones told reporters that the Iraq reconstruction process is expected to create 1,700,000 jobs for Iraqis. The current unemployment rate, he said, exceeds 25 percent of the six-million-strong Iraqi labor force.
Jones stressed that the rebuilding process is still in progress in spite of the lack of security in the war-hit country.