Jordan’s King Abdullah was in Doha on Thursday for a working visit.
During a meeting held on Wednesday evening, His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and King Abdullah discussed ways of promoting co-operation and ties between the two countries.
They also discussed the most prominent regional and international developments of common concern, including those related to the region’s stability, security and development.
King Abdullah’s visit is of special significance, coming within a series of meetings at the level of Arab leaders, and in view of the developments concerning issues at the Arab and international arenas, including the Palestinian cause, as well as the latest developments and repercussions of war in Ukraine.
His visit is expected to increase co-ordination, communication and consultation between the two countries on various issues.
Since the start of diplomatic ties in 1972, bilateral relations between Qatar and Jordan has witnessed substantial progress and growth in all fields and levels, especially in terms of economic and trade ties.
Relations between Doha and Amman have been strengthened following a series of reciprocal visits made at the highest level: His Highness the Amir visited Jordan in March 2014, March 2017 (to attend the 28th session of Arab summit that was convened in Amman), and in February 2020.
King Abdullah has paid numerous visits to Qatar, the latest of which was for the opening ceremony of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
Over the years, relations between Qatar and Jordan has resulted in the signing of bilateral agreements and memoranda of understanding (MoUs) that strengthen ties between the two countries.
These agreements and MoUs cover various aspects, including co-operation in the military, security, legal, customs and investment fields, mutual protection of investments, and mutual visa exemption for holders of diplomatic and private passports.
In June 2018 an initiative of His Highness the Amir provided 20,000 job opportunities Qatar to Jordanian youth and invested $500mn in Jordan’s infrastructure and tourism projects.
Qatar is one of the top countries investing in Jordan, with investments there have risen to more than $4.5bn, mostly in real estate, tourism services, banking, health and energy.
Qatar’s investments in the field of energy have expanded over the past years in several areas, most notably the Amman East Power Plant, and the project to generate electricity from photovoltaic solar cells (Shams Ma'an Power Plant), which is implemented by Nebras Power Company, a Qatari-Japanese investment that is built on an area of 2mn sq m.
Fifteen companies wholly owned by Jordanians operate in Qatar, while the number of joint Qatari-Jordanian companies operating in Qatar has reached about 1,550 companies, operating in a variety of sectors.
As for exports and imports between the two countries, they are concentrated in several sectors: Jordan imports oils, liquefied gas, fertilisers, cement products, pipes, polyethylene and polymers from Qatar, while Qatar imports from Jordan plant products, live animals, chemical industries, medicines, vegetables, air conditioning equipment, foodstuffs, marble, phosphates, potash and medical preparations.
The volume of trade between Qatar and Jordan amounted to QR624mn in 2021.
