Jordan, Israel discuss establishment of four joint industrial zones

The Jordanian minister of industry and trade said on Wednesday that he has discussed with his Israeli counterpart, Ran Cohen, several issues connected to trade between Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian government, describing his talks with Cohen as being held in an atmosphere of understanding.

In a joint press conference he held with Cohen, the Jordanian minister, Muhammad Asfour, added that there are several points discussed by the two sides on transporting commodities from Jordan to the Palestinian Authority and Israel and vice versa, as well as fees on Jordanian trucks and commodities.

Asfour continued that he had also discussed with the Israeli minister the question of establishing industrial cities, adding that committees concerned from the two sides will meet this month to eliminate all obstacles hindering Israeli-Jordanian trade.

He said that the new industrial zones which were proposed during his meeting with the Israeli minister are Maan and al-Aqaba in southern Jordan and al-Mafreq in northern Jordan, saying that these committees are working according to set criterion to achieve their objectives soon.

For his part Cohen said the volume of trade exchange between Jordan and Israel reaches US $27.5 million annually, including US $14.5 million in Israeli exports and US $13 million in Jordanian exports.

Cohen expressed his hope that commercial exchange between the two countries will develop higher.

Cohen will also discuss with Jordanian officials the establishment of four joint industrial zones and means of strengthening trade and economic cooperation between the two sides.

Cohen's visit to Jordan had been postponed due to the aggression made against a Jordanian parliamentary delegation led by the speaker of the Jordanian Parliament, Abdul Aziz al-Majali, to the al-Ibraheimi mosque in Hebron (al-Khalil), just three months ago.