Jordan Times
Thursday, October 4, 2001
Jordan, Syria expected to sign free trade agreement next week
By Rana Awwad
AMMAN — Jordan and Syria are expected to sign a free trade agreement (FTA) during a meeting of the Higher Jordanian-Syrian Committee on Monday, a senior official said.The meeting, to be held at the prime-ministerial level, is also set to seal 13 cooperation agreements and protocols on trade, investment, transport, tourism and telecommunications, said Trade and Industry Ministry Secretary General Samer Tawil on Wednesday.
Tawil, who is co-heading the Jordanian-Syrian preparatory committee with his Syrian counterpart Shibli Abul Fakhr, added that other accords involve media, environment, youth, social development, education, labour, health and taxation.
The two sides will discuss operating additional regular flights on the Amman-Aleppo route and the Amman-Damascus route in the high season with the help of Royal Jordanian and Arab Wings.
The Syrians are expected to be invited to benefit from the Jordanian telecommunications infrastructure, according to the meeting's agenda, a copy of which was obtained by The Jordan Times.
The talks will also involve the long-awaited Wihdeh Dam; a $146 million facility which is expected to supply the Kingdom with an additional 110mcm of water annually and also supply water to Syria.
Enhancing cooperation between the private sector on both sides, setting up joint ventures, promoting the Jordanian-Syrian free zone, are topics also slated for discussion at the meeting.
Official figures show that bilateral trade jumped by 72 per cent during the first seven months of this year to JD39 million as compared to the same period of last year. The volume of Syrian imports were almost double that of Jordanian exports.
Tawil said he expects the trade exchange to reach $200 million in the coming years.
Jordanian-Syrian ties chilled when Jordan signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994. However, they have markedly improved since His Majesty King Abdullah ascended the throne in 1999, and saw further development when Bashar Assad became president last year.