“The free trade agreement, which was signed today, is key to enhancing bilateral economic cooperation and boosting trade as well as investments between Jordan and Turkey,” a statement from the palace quoted the king telling Gül. “The two sides discussed efforts to strengthen cooperation in the fields of transport and energy,” the statement added.
The free trade agreement abolishes all tariff and non-tariff barriers on trade while aiming to strengthen economic, technical and industrial cooperation between the two countries. The governments also agreed to scrap visa requirements.
Turkey has been negotiating a free trade deal with Jordan since 2005. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Jordanian counterpart, Nader Dahabi, agreed last month in Ankara to sign the agreement before the end of the year.
A statement by the Turkish Foreign Trade Ministry stated yesterday that the agreement will contribute to commercial relations with an aim to increase annual trade volume between the two nations from $486 million as of the end of 2008 to $1 billion within two years. Trade between the two countries in the first half of this year exceeded $150 million, while Turkish investments in Jordan were estimated at $90 million.
Gül participated in a ceremony on Wednesday to inaugurate a $990 million plan to extract 100 million cubic meters of water a year from the 300,000-year-old Disi aquifer in southern Jordan. The four-year project is being carried out by Turkish construction giant GAMA.
Gül is on a three-day visit to Jordan until Dec. 3. Even though he had a busy schedule, the president found time to visit some important places in the country. While in Jordan, the president visited a memorial for Turkish martyrs. He then visited the tombs of Prophet Joshua and Prophet Muhammad’s companion Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah. Gül and the delegation accompanying him later had lunch in a hotel by the Dead Sea.
