Jordan Times
Friday, July 16, 2006
JD60 million of
investments expected to flow at upcoming Dead Sea forum
Carco described the forum as a platform for foreign companies to use Jordan as a
base for regional and international markets
By Mohammad Ghazal
AMMAN — The volume of local and foreign
investments in the country amounted to JD420 million during the January-June
period of this year, Jordan Investment Board (JIB) Director General Maan Nsour
told reporters on Thursday.
The amount compares with JD190 million during the same period of last year.
Nsour expected JD60 million of investments to flow at an international forum to
be held at the Dead Sea on Sunday under the patronage of His Majesty King
Abdullah.
The forum, “Growing Business in Jordan,” which is organised by the United
Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) in cooperation with the JIB,
will bring representatives from some 350 local, Arab and foreign companies.
It is designed to look into means to develop investment in the country and
attract partners to local small- and medium-enterprises (SMEs).
“The forum seeks to provide participants with information on the investment
environment in the country and enhance cooperation between local and
international companies towards setting up partnerships,” Nsour told
journalists.
Stressing that the government was keen on developing the investment climate and
attracting capital to the Kingdom, he said that business opportunities in the
different sectors will be displayed at the forum.
Field visits will be organised for representatives of foreign companies to local
firms where is a potential to form partnerships and joint projects.
In an earlier interview with The Jordan Times, Monica Carco, head of UNIDO’s
Investment Promotion Unit (IPU) said the event targets key stakeholders in the
form of donor agencies, NGOs, associations, banking institutions and business
development organisations that are active in the area of SME development.
Carco described the forum as a platform for foreign companies to use Jordan as a
base for regional and international markets, adding that it is geared towards
the SMEs, which are often described as the backbone of entrepreneurship.
Among the participants in the forum are the Ministry of Planning and
International Cooperation, the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority, the World
Bank, the Arab Gulf Programme for United Nations Development Organisation, the
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, and the Fredrich Neumann
Foundation.
As part of the forum, an exhibition will give the participating companies an
opportunity to highlight their activities and role in enhancing investment and
commerce.
The first Arab Entrepreneurs Business Forum (AEBF) will also be held on the
sidelines of the Sunday event, Nsour remarked.
The AEBF, which will group some 200 entrepreneurs from Jordan, Bahrain, Morocco,
Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt, Yemen, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iraq, Palestine,
Kuwait and the UAE, seeks to look into issues related to entrepreneurship
development and enterprise creation.
It also seeks to find ways for wider publicity to the intervention to encourage
and motivate young potential entrepreneurs from the region.
Organised by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, in cooperation with the Young
Arab Entrepreneurs Forum and the Jordanian Young Entrepreneurship Association,
it is also designed to create a platform for young Arab entrepreneurs to discuss
issues of common concern and exchange information on business opportunities,
technologies and markets.
JIB was founded a decade ago to be the government’s arm for promoting Jordan as
a unique destination for foreign investments, working closely with the private
sector to achieve its objective.
The IPU Jordan was set up in 2000 with the funding of the Italian government and
has since been hosted by the JIB. The IPU supports the development of local
industrial SMEs, facilitates their access to markets and financial services, and
contributes to enhancing the competitiveness and sustainability of industrial
development in Jordan.