Palestine and Jordan Agree to Strengthen Trade Ties
As tensions rise in the Middle East, Jordan and Palestine are steadily increasing their diplomatic relations in hopes to further cooperation in trade, energy, and agriculture, among other areas.
Following a meeting between the two prime ministers on September 17, an agreement was made to “increase trade exchange between the two countries, establish a logistics area between Palestine and Jordan, and set up an agricultural marketing company.” Both leaders also agreed to schedule a meeting of the Joint Higher Jordanian-Palestinian Committee (JPC) early next year in the Palestinian city of Ramallah. Such meetings have often been conducive to improving economic relations and cooperation between the two countries in the past.
These new agreements come on the heels of a historic meeting between King Abdullah II of Jordan and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in August 2017, the first such high-level talks in years. The meeting has led to improved relations, and the countries have signed 22 agreements in the past year alone. They have addressed a range of issues, from transport and culture to social development and higher education.
The agriculture sector has been an especially important topic of discussion for Palestinians. Palestinian Minister of Agriculture Sufian Sultan emphasized that agricultural products make up over half of Palestine’s exports. Mamoun Abu Shahla, the Palestinian minister of labor, hopes that increasing agricultural exports will lead to an overall trade volume with Jordan of over $500 million by the end of 2018. This echoes Jordan’s prime minister, who also expressed hopes for hitting that milestone in the “near future.”
In order to facilitate the rapid projected increase in trade volume, Jordan is currently planning to upgrade the King Hussein Bridge. The bridge, currently the only point of entry and exit for West Bank Palestinians, is controlled by the Israeli Transportation Ministry, which will work with Jordan to update the bridge.
For Palestine, the increase in trade is an attempt to diversify itself away from a dependence on Israel to sustain its economy. While possible to increase trade with Jordan given its geographic proximity, it will be difficult to increase foreign trade due to Israeli control over the West Bank’s international crossings. By expanding relations with Jordan, Palestine hopes to gain increased access to international markets, evading Israeli control and oversight. Jordan, which has been critical of Israel’s government since the U.S. moved its embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv in late 2017, is hoping to demonstrate significant support of Palestine. The Jordanian populace is said to overwhelmingly support the Palestinian cause.