Nayrouz News Agency : Chairman of the Jordan Investment Commission (JIC) Khaled Wazani and the American Chamber of Commerce in Jordan (AmCham JO) on Wednesday discussed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on investments in Jordan and the steps taken by the JIC to attract investments and support existing investments.

The session, which was held via videoconference, was moderated by AmCham JO Vice President Samer Asfour, with the attendance of AmCham JO President Mohammad Bataineh, AmCham JO members and a number of private sector representatives, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

Wazani said that Royal directives and His Majesty King Abdullah’s direct follow-up on government measures have contributed to attracting global attention to Jordan for its ability to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.

In light of that attention, the JIC, through its partnership with all entities in the public and private sectors, has developed work plans and an initiative for investment resilience and economic sustainability, he said.

The plans include several axes centred on promising entrepreneurial investments and investments in facing existing and future challenges, as well as those that have the potential for expansion and domestic and external access, the chairman noted.

Prior to the COVID-19 crisis, the JIC in cooperation with all government bodies launched 68 investment opportunities at an investment volume of $4.5 billion covering most sectors of the Kingdom, including the tourism, industry, health, agriculture and services sectors, he added.

Wazani said that, in the wake of the repercussions of the pandemic experienced by most of the world’s economies and the change in communication and marketing methods, the JIC has held consultative meetings with many private sector representatives.

The commission has focused on the health, agriculture, industry and information technology sectors in order to determine the most important investment opportunities proposed before promoting these opportunities. It has also increased cooperation with Jordanian embassies abroad in addition to opening representative offices in some of its targetted countries.

For his part, Bataineh expressed his appreciation for the chamber’s continuous cooperation with the JIC and the commission’s efforts to market Jordan as an attractive investment environment.

He stressed AmCham JO’s commitment to "building bridges” between the US and Jordan in a bid to create partnerships aimed at reaching regional and global markets.