"Jordan intends to raise economic relations with Azerbaijan"

Bilateral cooperation

Bilateral political relations between Azerbaijan and Jordan are at the highest level and Jordan side will raise the economic relations to the same level, Ambassador to Azerbaijan Adil Mohammed Adayla said.

Jordan was among the first countries in the world to recognize Azerbaijan’s independence in 1991.

Relations between the two countries began to develop in time of the Jordanian King Hussein I and former Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev.

Later, the ties were further strengthened during reign of King Abdullah II and President Ilham Aliyev, Adayla said in an interview with Trend on Independence Day.

Thanks to the two presidents’ efforts, Azerbaijani-Jordanian relations have developed rapidly and risen to a high level in a short period, he said.

Both countries opened their embassies in 2007, and it served to even greater expansion of political, economic and humanitarian relations between the two countries, Adayla underscored.

At present, there is a good legal base between Azerbaijan and Jordan, which covers about 40 intergovernmental and interdepartmental agreements.

The Azerbaijan-Jordan Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation also operates making a significant contribution to cooperation development, Adayla said.

The commission’s first meeting was held in Amman in 2010, while the second meeting was held in Baku this year.

The embassy makes every effort to develop bilateral cooperation in all spheres, he added.

Trade and economic relations

Today trade and economic cooperation between Azerbaijan and Jordan is not at proper level, Adayla said.

He stressed that there are objective reasons, and this is primarily due to the great distance.

"Businessmen in both countries do not risk making direct contacts. The
two governments are working hard to address the problems facing them
in cooperation," he underlined.

"A good base should be created for the development of economic cooperation, and communication plays a great role in this," Adayla said. "However, lack of direct flights between the two countries creates some difficulties. Jordanian side is currently considering the possibility to restore the Baku-Amman-Baku flight," he added.

Tourism

Tourism is a priority area of cooperation between the two countries, which has not yet managed to rise to a proper level, Adayla said.

He stressed that Jordanian citizens face some difficulties in making tourist trips to Azerbaijan due to high prices in the country.

"Several Jordanian tourism companies are interested in organizing tourist trips to Azerbaijan, but against a background of current prices they cannot attract the Jordanians here," he said.

Energy cooperation

According to Adayla, Jordan is interested in developing cooperation with Azerbaijan, and considers energy sector as one of the priorities.

"Jordan is interested in cooperating with Azerbaijan in this sphere. During the second meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission on Economic Cooperation the Jordanian side expressed interest to buy Azerbaijani gas, and this issue is now under consideration," he stressed.

Today, Jordan's daily needs in oil are 100,000 barrels, with gas needs of 70 million cubic meters.

In the future, the country intends to meet part of its needs with Azerbaijan's help, Adayla added.


/Trend/