GCC ‘to pay special attention to Jordan’

Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit meets with UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammad Ben Rashid Al Maktoum in Abu Dhabi on Sunday (Petra photo)

AMMAN (JT) – The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is “seriously” considering “bringing Jordan into the centre of attention in terms of economic and developmental support,” a senior UAE official said.

Quoted by the Jordan News Agency, Petra, UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs Mansour Ben Zayed Al Nahyan told Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit in Abu Dhabi on Sunday that Jordan’s security and stability is important for the security and stability of the Arab and the Gulf region.

He said the GCC is considering a fund to support development in the region, calling for clear strategies that map development needs in countries that are potential beneficiaries of the aid.

Bakhit was in the UAE to deliver a letter from His Majesty King Abdullah to UAE President Sheikh Khalifa Ben Zayed Al Nahyan that focused on bilateral ties and prospects for further cooperation.

The letter, which was handed to UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai Sheikh Mohammad Ben Rashid Al Maktoum, also focused on means to enhance joint Arab action in order to overcome challenges facing the Arab world.

Officials familiar with talks confirmed in statements to The Jordan Times the GCC’s intention to help Jordan, saying that more meetings will be held to discuss the details of cooperation.

Jordan has been seeking a free trade agreement with the GCC, while there has been talk of gradual accession to the oil-rich six-country bloc.

Petra has previously quoted Lower House Speaker Faisal Fayez as saying during a recent visit to Kuwait that the Kingdom is keen on joining the GCC, citing “similarities Jordan shares with the Gulf countries’ political, economic and social systems”.

At the meeting, attended by Minister of Industry and Trade Hani Mulki and Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh, Bakhit and Sheikh Mohammad looked into the cooperation ties between Jordan and the Gulf countries and ways to boost them at all levels.

The premier briefed the UAE official on the government’s efforts to meet citizens’ needs at all levels through a new vision for administrative, political and economic reform.

Bakhit noted that the Joint Jordanian-Emirati Economic Committee meetings will soon kick off in Amman, which he said will be a chance for UAE businesspeople to become acquainted with investment opportunities.

The UAE vice president underlined the importance of supporting the Jordanian economy to enable it to overcome economic challenges in light of political unrest in the region, stressing the need to enhance the Kingdom’s investment environment to provide work opportunities for Jordanians and improve their living standards.

Also yesterday, Bakhit, who returned home later in the day, met with several Jordanian expatriates in the UAE at the Jordanian Society in Abu Dhabi.

During the meeting, Bakhit briefed his audience on the government’s measures to implement the King’s directives to accelerate the political and economic reform process.

jordantimes