The Regional Business Networking Forum on Monday began in Amman, with the participation of more than 100 companies from Jordan, the Arab region and Italy. The event is organized by Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply, United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS). Speaking at the forum, Minister of Investment, acting Minister of Industry, and Labor, Kholoud Saqqaf, affirmed the government’s belief in the capabilities of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to develop production and marketing operations. The minister also referred to “unrelenting” pursuit to achieve “wider” access to regional and global markets, and find more networking opportunities to link Jordanian companies and their Arab and international counterparts. Saqqaf hoped the forum will be a “new” start in exploring opportunities to establish partnerships between Jordanian businesspeople and their counterparts in the participating countries, given Jordan’s stimulating investment environment that contributes to increasing competitive production and export capacity. Saqqaf said Jordan has carried out multiple economic reforms that align with Economic Modernization Vision (EMV) 2033, to provide the “best” investment climate, primarily establishment of Ministry of Investment to become the Kingdom’s main investment authority. In this regard, she referred to endorsement of Jordan’s new Investment Environment Law within the best international practices, and launch of partnership projects between the public and private sectors to attract and empower investments and integrate into regional and global markets. The minister indicated that EMV’s 8 pillars aim to achieve comprehensive and sustainable economic development that would provide 1 million new job opportunities by 2033. Saqqaf thanked the Italian government for its contribution to financing the project: “growing the capacities and competitiveness of micro- and small enterprises (MSEs) in Jordan to provide job opportunities for youth and women” and the UNIDO, which had a “key” role in implementing this project with the Ministry of Industry.
Source: Jordan News Agency