Jordan Times
Monday, July 26, 2004
Hyundai may invest in ASEZ
SEOUL (Petra) — The government and Hyundai carmaker agreed Sunday to study prospects for establishing an assembly plant in the Aqaba Special Economic Zone (ASEZ).
Under a memorandum of understanding signed during
the official visit by His Majesty King Abdullah to South Korea, the plant is
also expected to serve as a marketing centre for Hyundai in the Middle East. The
two sides also looked into the possibility of setting up a technical training
centre in Jordan to offer automotive engineering services in the Kingdom and the
entire Middle East.
King Abdullah met the chairmen of Hyundai and Samsung Electronics for talks on
investment opportunities in Jordan.
The same topic topped the agenda of the King's meeting with other leading South
Korean businessmen, who were briefed on Jordan's economic reforms. The Monarch
pointed out that such reforms helped the national economy record a 6.9 per cent
growth in the first quarter of this year. The Kingdom's economic policies were
designed to facilitate the flow of foreign investments into Jordan, King
Abdullah said.
He noted that economic reforms were coupled with a programme to modernise the
education process and link it to the requirements of the labour market.
Computerisation of education is a basic element in the programme, the King
added.
In related talks, King Abdullah told the New Asian Leaders that the community of
young businessmen would lead the change in the future. He invited them to visit
the Kingdom as a step towards enhancing their ties with Jordanian businessmen.
The King contributed to the establishment of the group by the World Economic
Forum.
At the political level, the King renewed Jordan's support for peace efforts in
the Middle East and hoped that the Iraqi government would succeed in bringing
stability and security to the war-torn country. King Abdullah reiterated that
Arabs and Muslims strongly reject terrorism.
Also Sunday, the King discussed with South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs
and Trade Ban Ki-moon ways to boost bilateral relations.
King Abdullah said at the meeting that he was looking forward to better
cooperation between the two sides.
He also expressed Jordan's willingness to provide all available assistance to
help South Korea maintain stability and security in Iraq and facilitate access
of the Asian country's firms into the Iraqi market.
Ban told the King that his country supports the roadmap to Middle East peace and
the recent UN resolution on the Israeli separation barrier in the West Bank.
On Saturday, Jordan and South Korea signed two agreements under which Seoul will
grant Amman $5 million and provide $24 million as a loan.
King Abdullah is scheduled to leave Monday for Hong Kong to hold talks with
Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa and key businessmen on means to attract
investments. Also, King Abdullah will meet Chinese President Hu Jintao to
discuss bilateral, regional and international issues.
The Monarch's Asian tour will also take him to Thailand for talks on economic
cooperation with King Bhumiphol Adulyadej and Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.