Business in Jordan, Amman

The objectives of the subject “Foreign Trade and Business in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan” are the following:

1. To analyse the Jordanian Economy and Foreign Trade (Import, Export, FDI)
2. To know the business opportunities in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
3. To explore the Jordanian trade relations with the country of the student
4. To know the Jordanian Free Trade Agreements
5. To examine the profile of Jordanian businesspeople and companies
6. To develop a business plan for the Jordanian Market

Jordanian Preferential Access and Free Trade Agreements

1. Jordan and the Arab Economic Area
2. Greater Arab Free-Trade Area (GAFTA)
3. Jordan-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (FTA)
4. Canada-Jordan Free Trade Agreement (FTA)
5. United States-Jordan Free Trade Agreement
6. Islamic Trade Preferential System (TPS-OIC)
7. European Union-Jordan Association Agreement
8. Euro-Mediterranean Free Trade Agreement (FTA)
9. Free Trade Agreements (FTA) with Malaysia, Egypt, the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), Tunisia, Algeria, Libya, Lebanon, Turkey, and Syria
10. Agadir Agreement
    1. Egypt-Jordan-Morocco-Tunisia Free Trade Agreement (FTA) / Agadir Agreement

Trade Facilitation Programs

1. World Trade Organisation (WTO)
   1. WTO General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS)
   2. WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS)
   3. WTO Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT)
   4. WTO Agreement on Preshipment Inspection (PSI)
   5. WTO Agreement on Safeguards (SG)
   6. WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA)
2. World Customs Organisation (WCO)
   1. Revised Kyoto Convention (RKC)
3. International Convention on the Harmonization of Frontier Controls of Goods (UNECE)
4. Convention concerning International Carriage by Rail (COTIF)
5. International Bureau of Containers and Intermodal Transport (BIC)
6. International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO, Chicago Convention)
7. International Maritime Organisation (IMO)
   1. International Convention for Safe Containers (CSC)
   2. Convention Relating to Temporary Admission (Istanbul Convention)
8. Convention on the Carriage of Goods by Sea (Hamburg Rules, UN)
9. Uniform Rules concerning the Contract of International Carriage of Goods by Rail (CIM, CIT)
10. International Road Transport Union (IRU)
    1. TIR Convention
    2. Guidelines on Safe Load Securing for Road Transport
11. Customs Convention on Containers (CCC, UN) - not a member

Islamic Organisations.

1. Arab League (LAS)
2. Summit of South American-Arab Countries (ASPA)
3. Asia-Middle East Dialogue (AMED)
4. Islamic Development Bank (IsDB)
5. Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA)
6. Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)
   1. Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (COMCEC)
   2. Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI)
   3. Islamic Centre for Development of Trade (ICDT)
   4. Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC)
7. Afro-Arab Cooperation
8. Arab Development Funds
9. Arab Trade Financing Programme (ATFP)
10. Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA)

Global Organisations

1. United Nations (UN)
   1. Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
   2. International Trade Centre (INTRACEN)
   3. World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO)
2. World Bank (WB)
3. World Trade Organisation (WTO)
4. International Monetary Fund (IMF)

The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

1. The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan shares borders with Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Israel, and Palestine
2. Arabic name: المملكة الأردنية الهاشمية
3. Jordan people are Arabs (98%)
4. The official language of Jordan is Arab.
   1. English is widely spoken
5. Capital of Jordan: Amman (4 million people)
6. Jordanian population: 5.9 million people
7. 87% of the Jordanian population is literate
8. Jordanian Area: 92,300 square kilometres
9. Jordan is a Constitutional Monarchy
10. Head of State of Jordan: King Abdullah
11. Jordanian Independence: 1946

Religion in Jordan.

1. Islam (Sunni Muslim) is the main religion of Jordan: 92% of the Jordanian population
2. 6% of the population are Christians (Orthodox)
3. Legal System of Jordan: Based on the Islamic Law and French codes

Jordan belongs to the Arab Economic Area (Islamic Civilisation).

Economy of Jordan.

1. Jordanian economy is experiencing a very high growth rates
2. Jordan is the second Arab economy that has grown over the past fifty years
3. Jordanian GDP growth: 3%
   1. Services sector: 68% of the total GDP
   2. Manufacturing: 25% of the Jordanian GDP
   3. Tourism sector: 14% of the GDP
4. Inflation rate: 5.6%
5. Free Market-Oriented Economy
6. Deep privatisation of the largest state-owned enterprises
7. The largest Jordanian port is the Port of Aqaba
8. The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan has significant natural resources, but its business sector is not well established, their economy is very open.
9. According to the Heritage Foundation, the Index of Economic Freedom of Jordan was 52
10. There are substantial trade and investment opportunities in construction, public sector, and commercial sector
11. According to the Central Bank of Jordan the services sector, including construction, accounts for 71.9% of the GDP.
12. Jordanian tourism has become increasingly important in the recent years (between 8 and 10% of the Jordanian gross domestic product)
13. In the recent years the most dynamic sector of the Jordanian economy has been the construction sector.
14. Jordanian industry comprises a broad range of products: meat products, fruits, vegetables, dairy, animal food, confectionery, soft drinks, snuff, olive oil, alcohol, and others
15. Jordan exports only 15% of his production
16. Currency: Jordanian dinar (JOD)
17. Deregulated telecommunication Market

Jordanian Foreign Trade.

1. The main suppliers of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan were Saudi Arabia (21%), China (10%), Germany (6%), the United States (4%), Egypt (4%), South Korea (3%) Italy (3%), India (3%), Japan (2.9%), and Turkey (2%)
2. The European Union accounts for 24% of the Jordanian imports
3. The largest Export Markets of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan were India (20%), the United States (16%), Iraq (13%), Saudi Arabia (7%), the United Arab Emirates (3%), and Syria (3%)
4. Jordanian main exports are apparel and clothing, fertilizers, vegetables, and pharmaceutical products
5. Jordanian main imports are Mineral fuels, nuclear reactors, electrical machinery, and vehicles
6. Qualifying Industrial Zones: free access to the U.S. market
7. Free Zones (Aqaba and Zarqa)

Jordan has more Free Trade Agreements (FTA) than any other Arab country: United States, Canada, Singapore, Malaysia, Egypt, the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), Tunisia, Algeria, Libya, Lebanon, Turkey, and Syria

More Trade Agreements are provided with Iraq, the Palestinian Authority, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, Lebanon, and Pakistan.