Jordan Times
Tuesday, November 30, 2004
US, Jordanian, Iraqi and
international experts participate in AJEX 2004
Amman (JT) — The American Jordanian Exposition, organised by the American
Chamber of Commerce in Jordan (AmCham-Jordan) will kick off with an opening
ceremony on Wednesday under the Royal Patronage of His Majesty King Abdullah.
The conference and exhibition will take place on Dec. 1-2, 2004, according to a
press release from the organisers.
“AJEX 2004 will explore and enforce the different possibilities available
through capitalising on two-way trade opportunities made more available with the
Jordan-US Free Trade Agreement, in its fourth year now,”says Azzam Shweihat,
chairman of AmCham-Jordan.
“AJEX 2004 highlights Jordan's advantageous position for companies wanting to do
business in Iraq and also wanting to create a base in Jordan to open new markets
in the US, the EU and the region,” he indicated.
According to the press release, experts from economics, law and technology will
provide the ideal forum for acquiring information on strategic, economic and
business sector specific matters directly to a diverse group of participants
from various sectors including but not limited to tourism, investment, trade and
manufacturing.
“Expert speakers participating this year at AJEX have served in senior
government positions, consulted major corporations and governmental bodies,
bringing with them a wealth of information to be shared throughout the
conference,” said Rose Alissi, CEO of AmCham-Jordan.
“We also have a high registration of participants for the conference from the
US, the Middle East, Asia and Europe, and an impressive number of local
exhibitors representing furniture, technology, machinery, garment industry among
others, along with the highlight of this year's exhibition, the US Catalogue
Show,” she added.
AJEX 2004 will embrace four major sessions on investment opportunities, regional
trade opportunities through free trade agreements, Jordan-US-Iraq trade
opportunities and transportation and logistics between the Jordanian and Iraqi
markets.
The sessions provide a platform for participants to address and discuss sector
specific issues highlighted in the sessions with Jordanian, US, Iraqi and
regional officials and expert speakers from various spheres; the US Trade and
Development Agency, regional AmChams as well as the US AmCham; Jordanian and
Iraqi ministries; Jordan and US governmental bodies, private consulting firms,
USAID, Iraq and Jordan; the Baghdad Business Alliance Centre, American
Association of Importers and Exporters, Lucent Technologies, JGATE and ASEZA.
What differentiates this year from others is the focused sector specific topics
throughout the sessions.
Special topics such as “Prospects for Jordan-Iraq Free Trade Agreement,” “Future
Contracting Projects and US Company Opportunities” and “Latest developments in
reconstruction programmes in Iraq” will provide bottom line guidance for
participants on how to operate in both Jordan and Iraq.
The regional trade opportunities session will announce the advantages of the
proposed establishment of a Middle East Regional AmChams Council to address
opportunities and the implementation mechanisms for a successful Middle East
Free Trade Agreement Initiative (MFTA) through discussing topics such as “Jordan
as a Gateway to Preferential Trade Opportunities in Global Markets”; “Strategies
and Activities of American Chambers of Commerce in the Region to Promote US
Trade” and “Promotion and Capacity Development Programmes.”
One of the main aims of this session is to highlight the opportunities available
for trade by placing them in the regional context and allowing collaborative
introduction of regional initiatives to expand and increase distribution
channels of US products and services in the Middle East region.
“AJEX 2004 will present the right tools to unveil the immense trade and
investment opportunities available through Jordan, by showcasing and
highlighting sector focused topics through the sessions and panels on offer
during the two days,” said Shweihat. “This can only be done, due to the deep
understanding and excellent grasp of industry knowledge that AJEX 2004 speakers
and participants will bring into the sessions, ensuring the successful exchange
of ideas and resulting in the effective development of initiatives and
recommendations addressing the business needs and technical challenges of
penetrating the US market, the challenges of exporting and how best to go at
it,” he added.
The AJEX 2004, running parallel to the conference aims to attract US-based
companies, trade representatives and agents to promote US products and services
that can use Jordan as a base to access the Middle East region, as well as
Jordanian products and services that can be exported to the region and the US.
The exhibition will be open to the business community and will include companies
that represent importers of US products, US franchisees, producers and exporters
of Jordanian products, companies operating at Qualifying Industrial Zones, US
technology companies, US State offices, regional American chambers of commerce,
business associations and government organisations.