India – Jordan Relations

India’s relationship with Jordan has always been characterized by warmth and goodwill based on mutual respect. The two countries signed their first bilateral agreement for cooperation and friendly relations in 1947, which was formalised in 1950 when the two countries established full-fledged diplomatic ties. This year the 65th Anniversary of diplomatic relations is being celebrated with large scale cultural activities to enhance people to people exchanges. To promote and facilitate tourism, another “India Road Show” is proposed for October, 2015 along with the 1st Meeting of the JWG on Tourism Cooperation. In November, 2014, Government of India decided to extend e-TV facility to Jordanians. Apart from Media interactions, the GoITO also organized one information and interaction seminar for local tour operators in Amman. To help Jordan in its capacity building efforts 30 ITEC slots have been made available apart from other scholarships under ICCR. During the recently held 9th Session of the India-Jordan Joint Trade and Economic Committee meeting in Amman on 29-30 March, it was, inter alia, agreed to a bilateral trade target of US $ 5 bn by 2020 and holding of annual Indo-Jordan Business Forum.

Cooperation in Multilateral Fora

Our interaction with Jordan in multilateral fora, particularly under UN’s framework has fostered better understanding on mutual concerns and priorities. Jordan had extended its support for India’s candidature for a non-permanent seat in the UN Security Council for the term 2011-12 and India had extended its valuable support to Jordan’s candidature for the seat for the term 2014- 16. In October, our Mission in New York handed-over a cheque amounting US $ 500,000 to the United Nations in New York for the Emergency Response Fund for Jordan.

Visits

The landmark State visit of Their Majesties King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein and Queen Rania to India in December 2006 provided an excellent opportunity for exchanging views on all aspects of our bilateral relations. During the visit, a number of bilateral agreements were signed.

His Royal Highness Prince El Hassan bin Talal paid a visit to India during October- November 2012.

Shri S.M. Krishna, the then External Affairs Minister (EAM), accompanied by an official delegation, made a transit visit to Amman on 8 and 11 January 2012. During the course of the visit, the Indian side led by EAM and the Jordanian side led by H.E. Mr. Nasser S. Judeh held talks on bilateral and regional issues of mutual concern.

The then MOS(EA), Shri E. Ahamed made a transit halt in Amman on 20 November 2011 en route to Ramallah (Palestine). During the transit visit, MOS(EA) called on the then Prime Minister H.E. Mr. Awn Shwkat Al-Khasawneh. He again paid an official visit to Jordan on 2-3 July, 2013, and transited on 6 July, 2013. During the visit, he called on PM Ensour and met with Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh. Discussions focused on the entire gamut of issues encompassing bilateral relations especially in economic and commercial fields as well as regional and international developments.

Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, the then Minister of State for Commerce & Industry, paid an official visit to Jordan in February 2010. Shri A.K. Jain, Secretary General, National Human Rights Commission of India (NHRC), represented India at the Asia Pacific Forum on Human Rights held in Amman from 3-6 August, 2009.

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Dr. Charnjit Singh Atwal, Hon’ble Speaker, Punjab Legislative Assembly accompanied by his spouse and Secretary, Punjab Legislative Assembly paid an official visit to Amman from 22 – 25 September 2012. The Hon’ble Speaker had a meeting with Mr. Atef Al Tarawneh, Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The meeting focused on issues of parliamentary cooperation.

A 4-member Indian delegation led by Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, Chairperson, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) participated at the Regional Group Meeting of Asia Pacific Forum (APF), the 11th International Conference of National Human Rights Institutions and side event on Business Women’s and Children’s Rights held in Amman from 5-8 November, 2012. In addition, other official level visits to Amman included that of Shri K. Saleem Ali, Special Director(S), CBI from 16-18 July 2012 to attend the Third Global Focal Point Conference; a 4- member delegation led by the then Chief Election Commissioner of India, Dr. S.Y. Quraishi from 17 to 21 March, 2012; and the then Secretary (East) on 4 August, 2012 to attend NAM Ministerial Committee meeting slated for 05-06 August, 2012 in Ramallah (Palestine), which got cancelled at the last moment.

The 4th Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Housing and Urban Development was held in Amman from 10-12 December, 2012. The then Indian Ambassador Shri R.R. Dash headed the delegation alongwith Shri Susheel Kumar, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation.

At the invitation of the Jordan Independent Election Commission a two-member delegation from the Election Commission of India paid a visit to Jordan from 02-10 January 2013 to assist Jordan with the preparation of training of district officers for the Parliamentary elections held on 23 January, 2013.

Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers Shri Srikant K Jena paid an official visit to Jordan from 8-11 July, 2013. During the visit, he called on Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour, the then Minister for Trade and Industry Hatem Halawani and Minister for Energy and Mineral Resources Malek Kabarati separately. Mr. Amer Majali, Chairman, Jordan Phosphate Mines Company (JPMC) also held a meeting with MOS and the accompanying Indian delegation.

Foreign Office Consultations between India and Jordan were held on 1 April, 2014, in Amman. Shri Anil Wadhwa, Secretary [East] led the Indian delegation and the Jordanian delegation was headed by Mr. Mohammad Taisir Bani Yaseen, Secretary General in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Both sides held constructive discussions on the entire gamut of bilateral relations, especially in the fields of politics, defence, security, economy, energy and culture. During the visit, Shri Wadhwa also held talks with Mr. Hatem Halawani, Minister for Industry, Trade & Supply and Minister for Information Communication Technology and Mr. Nasser Judeh, Minister for Foreign Affairs & Expatriates separately. The visit was widely covered in the local print media. He again visited Jordan in July, 2014 as Special Envoy of EAM and held talks Mr. Mohammad Taisir Bani Yassen, Secretary General at the MoFA and also called on Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh.

An eight-member Indian delegation consisting of MPs and MLAs participated at the Parliamentary Action on Renewable Energy held on 7-8 November 2014 at Dead Sea. The event jointly organized by the Climate Parliament and the United Nations Development Programme deliberated on energy policies of the respective countries. Ambassador Trigunayat called on the Indian delegation and also hosted a dinner reception in their honour. Delegates also expressed interest in enhancing Parliamentary cooperation and exchange with their Jordanian counterpart.

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The 9th India-Jordan Joint Trade and Economic Commission [JTEC] meeting was held under the leadership of the Hon’ble Minister of State (Independent Charge) in the Ministry of Commerce & Industry Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman and H.E. Ms. Maha Ali, Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in Amman, on 30 March, 2015. Both sides, expressed satisfaction over the proceedings of the JTEC which was held at the Ministerial level for the first time after its upgradation considering our special bilateral relationship and positive trends in the field of trade and economic cooperation between the two countries. The two sides discussed and reviewed the bilateral issues of mutual interest and deliberated ways to help further boosting the bilateral trade and investment linkages. During the meeting, a bilateral trade target of US $ 5 bn by 2020 was agreed upon. It was also agreed to organise an annual Indo-Jordan Business Forum. The Ministerial meeting was preceded by Senior Officials Meeting [SOM] on 29th March where the Senior Officials from both sides deliberated on the entire gamut of issues. On the sidelines of the visit, Smt. Sitharaman addressed the august gathering of the CEOs from Jordan, Iraq and India.

Bilateral Trade

India-Jordan trade is governed by an agreement signed in 1976. A Trade and Economic Joint Committee constituted under the Agreement promote and monitor the progress. Over the years, bilateral trade has grown rapidly despite global economic downturn. Balance of trade was in favour of Jordan during the last few years for reasons of massive imports of phosphate and potash by India. However, two-way trade in 2014 registered US $ 1.89 billion as against US $ 1.61 billion in 2013 with balance of trade continue to be in India’s favour for the second consecutive year. The two way trade figures by the end of March 2015 is US $ 346 million with India’s exports at US $ 198 million and imports at US $ 148 million. A successful cooperation in fertilizer sector between the two countries exists. A Joint venture project worth US$ 860 million between the Jordan Phosphate Mines Company (JPMC) and the Indian Farmers Fertilisers Cooperative (IFFCO) for manufacturing of Phosphoric Acid set up in Eshidiya has already in operation. The MMTC India Ltd, inked an MOU with the JPMC on cooperation in the fertilizer sector in June, 2015. India became the 4th largest trade partner of Jordan after Iraq, Saudi Arabia and China.

The quantum of bilateral trade between India and Jordan soared to US$ 1.89 billion in 2014 as compared to US$570 million in 2006. Details of trade volume are tabulated below:

Year Total Trade turnover Export to India (in US$) Import from India (in US$) 2008 1.8 billion 1.283 billion 503 million 2009 983 million 686 million 297 million 2010 1.16 billion 783 million 382 million 2011 1.36 billion 867 million 492 million 2012 1.43 billion 722 million 711 million 2013 1.61 billion 496 million 1.1 billion 2014 1.89 billion 648 million 1.24 billion 2015 [As on end 346 million 148 million 198 million March, 2015] [Source: Department of Statistics of Jordan]

India imports fertilizers, phosphates, phosphoric acid etc from Jordan and exports electrical machinery, cereals, frozen meat, organic and inorganic chemicals, animal fodders, engineering and automotive parts etc. Possibilities for joint ventures in the fields of leather, automobile, IT, pharmaceuticals, renewable energy[Solar] and construction sectors can be explored further. The newly constituted Investment Commission is actively pursuing to attract investors from all across

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the world, including Indian investments in Jordan especially in ICT, Finance/Banking Services, Renewable energy [Solar] and Bio-medical services sectors.

Trade Delegations

A 10-member Indian delegation led by Mr. Som Mittal, President, NASSCOM participated in the biennial Middle East and North Africa- Information and Communications Technology Forum 2010 (MENA-ICT FORUM 2010) held in Amman 10-11 October 2010.

In February 2011, a 4-member business delegation consisting of Mr. B.K. Agarwala, Director Business Development, M/s Oripol Industries Limited Orissa(India) and other three business associates visited Jordan to explore business opportunities. Dr. Sutanu Behuria, the then Secretary (Fertilizers), GoI paid a visit to Jordan from 18-22 July 2011 to discuss prospects of further collaboration with Jordan in the fertilizer sector.

A high level Jordanian delegation led by the erstwhile Jordan Investment Board (JIB) participated in NASSCOM India Leadership Forum 2011 held in Mumbai in February 2011. Another delegation from Jordan Institution for Standards and Metrology (JISM) took part at the International Organisation for Standardization (ISO) held in New Delhi in September 2011.

Indian business houses have been continually participating in the International Machines and Electro-Mechanical Exhibition-JIMEX events for the last three years i.e. the 10th, 11th and 12th International Machines and Electro-Mechanical Exhibition-JIMEX held in Amman on 2013, 2014 and 2015 respectively. During the last 12th International Machines and Electro-Mechanical Exhibition-JIMEX-2015 held in Amman from 18-21 May, 2015, 80 Indian companies from different verticals, led by ASSOCHAM and EEPC, showcased their products under the “Indian Pavilion”. Indian participation was the largest by all means.

A five-member delegation from the Jordan Phosphate Mines Company (JPMC) participated at the 49th Annual Seminar of the Fertiliser Association of India (FAI) held in New Delhi from 11- 13 December, 2013. The Jordanian delegation was led by Mr. Amer Al Majali, Chairman, JPMC.

A 16-member business delegation led by Shri Chandranath Som, Jt. Dy. Director, Federation of Indian Export Organisations [FIEO] visited Amman from 26-28 May. The delegation interacted with (i) Amman Chamber of Commerce [ACC] (ii) Jordan Investment Commission [JIC] and (iii) Iraqi Business Council. B2B meetings were conducted on 27 and 28 May where the delegation members meet with their respective counterparts from the Jordanian side. Shri Som also called on the Minister of Trade, Industry and Supply Hatem Halawani and Ms. Maha Ali, Secretary General, Ministry of Trade and Industry. On the side lines of the event, FEIO and ACC signed an MOU with a view to enhancing further cooperation in the related fields.

Preparatory meeting for the 4th India-Arab Partnership Conclave was held in Amman on 23- 24 June. A 3-member Indian delegation led by Shri Sandeep Kumar participated at the meeting. During the visit, the delegation also separately held talks with local chambers. Subsequently, Federation of Arab Businessmen [FAB] delegation led by its Chairman Dr Hambbi Tabaa participated at the 4th India-Arab Partnership Conference held in New Delhi on 26-27 November. A total of around 15 Jordanian businessmen also participated at the event On the sidelines of the event, FICCI signed a Cooperation Agreement with FAB.

A 60-member Indian business delegation representing 36 Indian companies under the FEIO participated at the “Interbuild Fair -2014” held in Amman from 22-25 September. Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour inaugurated the “Indian Pavilion” along with Ambassador Trigunayat. Prior to the event, Amman Chamber of Commerce hosted a meeting with entire Indian contingent 4

followed by B2B meetings where several Jordanian businessmen participated. During the opening remarks, Ambassador Trigunayat while expressing satisfaction on the bilateral economic relations apprised the attendees about the “Make in India” campaign. He underscored the essence of the campaign in further deepening and strengthening the relations. A short film received from DIPP was also screened. Both the events were widely covered by local print and visual media.

Defence

A 14-member NDC delegation led by Rear Admiral Anand Iyer, VSM, Seniior Directing Staff (Indian Navy) visited Jordan in May 2010 as part of the Foreign Countries Study Tour of the 50th NDC Course. Cooperation in the Defence Sector has immense scope considering commonality of security concerns. A 14-member delegation from the Jordanian Royal National Defence College visited India from 14-17 April, 2014. During the visit, the delegation called on Secretary[East] on 16 April, 2014.

Col. Alok Sen, Armed Forces Medical Services [AFMS], attended the 7th Royal Medical Services [RMS] and the fourth Pan-Arab Regional Working Group congress of military Medicine for the International Committee of military Medicine held at Dead Sea [Jordan] from 4-6 November 2014.

Science & Technology

An MoU on cooperation in Science and Technology was signed between Indian National Academy of Sciences and the Royal Scientific Society of Jordan in January 2006.

Culture

There is immense interest in Jordan for Indian art and culture, especially Bollywood films. Cultural exchanges in the form of cultural troupe visits, hosting of cultural exhibitions have helped in promoting cultural understanding between the two countries. A Cultural Exchange Programme for the year 2007-09 was signed in December 2006 and reviewing the CEP is under consideration. A Sitar Group and a Bharatnatyam troupe sponsored by ICCR participated in the Jordan Festival in July 2009. Odissi dancer Smt. Rajashri Behera, sponsored by ICCR, performed in Amman in November 2009.

The Embassy of India, Amman has been actively participating in various cultural activities. On 4 May 2011, a group of women from India, dressed in their traditional attire, performed the “raas garba” during a cultural event organised by the Asian Ambassadors’ Ladies in Amman (AALIA).

At the invitation of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations [ICCR] a 12-member cultural delegation from the Zaha Cultural Centre, Greater Amman Municipality, participated at the ”World Percussion Festival” held in New Delhi from 21-23 November, 2014.

The Mission has been celebrating the 65th Anniversary of Diplomatic Relations between India and Jordan in 2015. The celebration kicked-off on 26th January, 2015. During the first half of the 2015, Indo-Jordanian photographic exhibition, exhibition on Islamic monuments of India, cultural performances and Bollywood film festivals were organized, in association with local partners, in Amman, Petra and Aqaba. As part of the celebration, ICCR sponsored a 3-member santoor troupe led by by Dr. Varsha Aggarwal, and a 10-member Manipuri dance troupe performed in Amman and Aqaba respectively in the month of March and April, 2015. In addition a 6-member Classical Indian “Kuchipudi” dance group, led by Ms. Sreelakshmy Kallungual Govardhan, jointly sponsored by “Classic Fashion Apparel and the Embassy performed at Amman 5

on 25 April, 2015. A sensational saree exhibition titled “Magic of Indian Weaves” curated by Ms. Rta Kapur Chisti was displayed in Amman from 1-10 February, 2015 which was inaugurated by HRH Princess Bint Talal. The Jordan-India Friendship Society [JIFS], which was re-launched on 28 February 2015, hosted several symposiums during the first half of the year. Princess Wijdan Al Hashemi kindly consented to be the Patron of the Society. The society also celebrated the Jordanian national day on 31 May, 2015 under the patronage of HRH Princess Wijdan Al Hashemi at the University of Jordan. On the sidelines of the event, a photo exhibition on bilateral exchanges was displayed at the venue.

A five member delegation headed by Chief Commissioner of the Petra Development & Tourism Region Authority [PDTRA] visited India from 16-22 February, 2015 to participate at the India International Film Tourism Conclave [IIFTC]. On the sidelines of the visit, the delegation met with producers and productions houses in Agra. A proposal to twin “Petra” and “Taj” two wonders of the world is under consideration.

On 21st June, the Embassy, in collaboration, with the local yoga partners celebrated the 1st International Day of Yoga in Amman under the patronage of HRH Princess Rym Ali. As a run up to the main event, several Yoga institutes organize separate events in Amman and at the lowest point on earth i.e. Dead Sea. Ton 21 June, the event started with “Yoga for Peace & Harmony” march in the morning at the famour Zahran Streen, Amman. The main event was held in the afternoon with participation of over 300 people from all walks of life including resident diplomats.

At the invitation of Jordanian Ministry of Culture a 5-member Kathak dance troupe led by Ms. Prachee Shah, sponsored by ICCR, will be visiting Jordan to participate at the Jerash Festival in July, 2015 and will also performed at Zarqa.

Education

At present, there are over 500 Jordanian students pursuing studies in different universities in India. The number of Jordanian alumni of Indian universities is over 2500. India is committed to sharing its developmental experience with Jordan through capacity building programmes under our ITEC programme. The number of ITEC slots to Jordanian candidates under the ITEC programme was raised to 30 in 2014. In addition, ICCR offers 05 (five) annual scholarships to meritorious Jordanian students for higher education in India. It is a matter of satisfaction that Jordanian nationals have been making good use of the training opportunities under these programmes offered by the GoI.

Jordanian Minister of Education Tayseer Al-Naimi participated in the First World Education Summit (WES)-2011 held in New Delhi in July 2011. During his visit, he met with the Hon’ble Minister of Human Resource Development Shri Kapil Sibal.

On 27 February 2013, the Amity University Online, India and the Talal Abu Ghazaleh University signed an Agreement paving the way for access to online higher education on a range of streams.

University of Petra, (UoP), Amman, Jordan and Amity University Uttar Pradesh (AUUP) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in April, 2015 paving the way for cooperation and exchange in all academic areas of mutual interest including friendship and educational exchange.

Visits of Journalists from Both countries

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As guests of XP Division, three Editors/Senior Journalists viz. (i) Ms. Ica Wahbeh, Managing Editor, The Jordan times, (ii) Mr. Marwan Sudah, Al Rai newspaper and (iii) Ms. Elena Y. Nidoguin, Senior Jurnalist, The Star weekly newspaper, visited India from 19-26 March 2011 on a familiarization tour.

Shri Saeed Naqvi, Distinguished Fellow, Observer Research Foundation (ORF) and a senior journalist paid a visit to Jordan from 17-21 April, 2011. During his stay in Jordan he met with a cross-section of people, including HRH Prince El Hassan bin Talal, H.E. Mr. Taher Al Masri, Senate President & Chariman of the National Dialogue Committee, Senator Mr. Akel E. Biltaji, Member of Upper House of Parliament of Jordan, Acting Secretary General, Arab Thought Forum (ATF) and Dy. Editor-in-Chief of Al Ghad Newspaper.

Ms. Abeer Numan, a Senior journalist working with The Jordan Times” participated in the IPHEX (Indian Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Expo) held in Mumbai on 24-26th April 2013 organized by Pharmexcil. Two senior journalists from the leading English daily “The Jordan Times” visited India from Jan 11-18, 2014 under the familiarization trip organized by the XP Division of the Ministry.

Two senior journalists from the leading English daily “The Jordan Times” visited India from Jan 11-18, 2014 under the familiarization trip organized by the XP Division of the Ministry.

Three senior journalists from the leading local dailies (i) Mr. Mohmoud Al Abed, Editor, The Jordan Times; (ii) Mr. Marwan Sudah, Journalist, Al Rai and (iii) Ms. Elena, Editor-in-Chief, Star Weekly visited India from 5-13 August, 2014 on familiarization trip organized by the Government of J & K.

Mr. Amjad Sulmi Al Snaid, News Director, JRTV participated at the India-League of Arab States Media Symposium-cum-familiarization programme for Senior Journalists held in New Delhi from August 20-24, 2014.

Publicity-cum-Tourism related events

Mission has been making extra endeavour in organizing publicity-cum-tourism related events with a view to promoting tourism and goodwill between two countries. Such events were organised in January, February, March and December, 2011, respectively at different venues in Amman. The events witnessed huge attendance representing various cross-sections. The events were marked by showing tourism-cum-publicity related DVDs and distribution of publicity-related material to the invitees.

An ‘Incredible India Tourism Road Show’ was organized on 27 June 2012 by the Embassy of India in Amman in collaboration with India Tourism Office, Dubai. The then Hon’ble Minister for Tourism, Shri Subodh Kant Sahai inaugurated the event. The delegation comprised of several dignitaries, eminent persons and stakeholders including members of the Indian Association of Tour Operators(IATO), India Tourism Development Cooperation (ITDC), airlines representatives, hoteliers, Medical and Wellness facilities etc. Mission brought our information flyers and “Coffee Table Book” on “India-Jordan” to mark the 65th Anniversary of diplomatic relations.

The Government of India decided to extend e-TV facility to Jordanians effective from 27 November, 2014. A presentation event on eTV was jointly organized by the Embassy and India Tourism Office, Dubai, on 23 December, 2014 at Amman where local tour operators attended. The event was widely covered in local print and visual media.

Indian Community 7

Jordan is home to more than 10,000 Indians, who are employed in textile, construction and manufacturing sectors, fertilizer companies, health sector, universities, IT, financial companies and multilateral organisation. There are about 25 garment factories across Jordan [Qualified Industrial Zones (QIZs)] owned by Indians with an investment of over US$ 300 million and employing over 10,000 persons.

Jordan liberalized visa regime for Indian national since November 2009. Indian tourists visiting Jordan gets ‘visa on arrival’. As a result of the new visa regime, people to people contacts have been further enhanced witnessing the number of Indian tourists to Jordan to over 45,000 in 2014. However in 2015, the scheme seems to undergone change for individual tourists.

A delegation of the Jordan Tourism Board (JTB) visited India on 15-16 July 2011 to attend a series of workshops between Jordanian travel and tour agents and their counterparts in India. Conclusion

India and Jordan share a very warm and cordial relationship. It is our hope that the existing mutually beneficial relations between the two countries would be further deepened and strengthened in the years ahead.

Useful Resources:

Embassy of India, Amman Website:

http://indembassy-amman.org/

Embassy of India, Amman Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Embassy-of-India-Amman/

Embassy of India, Amman Twitter page:

https://twitter.com/IndiainJordan

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June 2015

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