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.

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 too have extended its valuable support to Jordan’s candidature for the same seat for the term 2014-16.

Visits

The landmark State visit of His Majesty King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein and Her Majesty Queen Rania to India in December 2006 provided an excellent opportunity for exchange of 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 8th and 11th 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 matters on 8th January, 2012.

MOS(EA), Shri E. Ahamed made a transit halt in Amman on 20th November 2011 en route to his visit to Ramallah (Palestine). During the transit visit MOS(EA) called on then Prime Minister of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan H.E. Mr. Awn Shwkat Al-Khasawneh. MOS(EA) again MOS(EA) paid an official visit to Jordan on 2-3 July, 2013, and transited through Amman 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 latest regional and international developments. The visit was widely covered by the local print media.

Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, 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.

Dr. Charnjit Singh Atwal, Hon’ble Speaker, Pubjab Legislative Assembly accompanied by his spouse and Secretary, Punjab Legislative Assembly paid an official visit to Amman, (Jordan) from 22 – 25 September 2012. The Hon’ble Speaker accompanied by Ambassador 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 mutual bilateral interest.

A 4-member Indian delegation led by Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, Chairperson, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) participated in the Regional Group Meeting of Asia Pacific

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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. Besides, there have been several other official level visits including that of Shri K. Saleem Ali, Special Director(S), CBI who paid an official visit to Amman 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, paid an official visit to Jordan from 17 to 21 March, 2012. He called on the H.E. Dr. Awn AL-Khasawneh, then Prime Minister of Jordan. He also met with Governor Saed Shihab, Director of Political Affairs and Society Organizations Department, Ministry of Interior, H.E. Mr. Saluim Al Zoubi, Minister of Justice, H.E. Mr. Ayman Odeh, Minister of State for Prime Ministry Affairs and Legislation, H.E. Mr. Haya Al Quralleh, Minister of Political Development and Parliamentary Affairs and H.E. Dr. Ibrahim Al Jazi, Minister of State for Legal Affairs.

Secretary (East) paid a visit to Amman on 4th August, 2012 to attend NAM Ministerial Committee meeting slated for 05-06 August, 2012 in Ramallah (Palestine), which got cancelled in 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 them with the preparation of training of district officers for the upcoming Parliamentary elections slated for 23 Jan, 2013.

Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers Shri Srikant K Jena paid a visit to Jordan from 8-11 July, 2013. During the visit, he called on Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour, Minister for Trade and Industry Hatem Halawani and Minister for Energy and Mineral Resources Malek Kabarati separately on 9 July, 2013. 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 1st 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 Expatriate Affairs 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 & Expatriate Affairs separately. The visit was widely covered by the local print media.

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 2013 registered US $ 1.61 billion as against US $ 1.43 billion in 2012 with balance of trade significantly shifted in favour of India for the first time.. A successful cooperation in fertilizer sector between the two countries exists. A Joint venture project

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worth US$ 850 million between the Jordan Phosphate Mines Company (JPMC) and the Indian Farmers Fertilisers Cooperative (IFFCO) for manufacturing of Phosphoric Acid set up in Eshidiya in October 2009 is scheduled for commercial operation in May 2014.

The quantum of bilateral trade between India and Jordan soared to US$ 1.8 billion in 2008 as compared to US$570 million in 2006. In 2008, India was Jordan’s largest export partner and ninth largest import partner. Subsequently, in 2009, there was slight decline in trade turnover between the two countries registering the volume of trade at a value of US£983 million only. Various factors such as global economic slowdown, decline in the international price of phosphates and also on huge trade growth in the previous year could be attributed for the decline. Trade volume once again picked up in subsequent years i.e. 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 respectively. Details of trade volume are tabulated below:

Year Total Trade turnover Export to India (in Import from India (in US$ 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

India imports fertilizers, phosphates, phosphoric acid etc from Jordan and exports electrical machinery, cereals, frozen meat, organic and inorganic chemicals, aircraft and its parts thereof, animal fodders, engineering goods etc. Possibilities for joint ventures in the fields of leather, automobile parts, IT, pharmaceuticals and construction materials can be explored. Jordan Investment Board (JIB) is actively pursuing to attract Indian investments in Jordan especially in ICT, Financial Services 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 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 in meetings of the International Organisation for Standardization (ISO) held in New Delhi in September 2011.

The 10th International Machines and Electro-Mechanical Exhibition-JIMEX-2013 was held in Amman from 3-6 June, 2013. A 16-Indian engineering companies participated at the "Indian Pavilion" under the EEPC-India (formerly Engineering Export Promotion Council). The EEPC was represented by Mr. Sunny Bose, Sr Executive Officer. During the 11th International Machines and Electro-Mechanical Exhibition-JIMEX-2014 held in Amman on 2-5 June, 2014 twelve Indian companies, led by Ms. Neetu Singh, Assistant Director, EEPC, showcased their products at the 3

“India Pavilion”. India topped the list of exhibitors at the exhibition. Ms. Singh also interacted with her counterparts from Amman Chamber of Commerce, Jordan Chamber of Commerce, Jordan Chamber of Industry and Jordan Enterprises Development Corporation[JEDCO] on issues of mutual interest.

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 [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.

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.

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).

Mr. Muzaffar Ali, well-known Indian film Producer & Director and Member, Board of Prasar Bharati, accompanied by Mrs. Ali visited Amman from 26-28 June 2011.

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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. We offer 25 slots every year to Jordanian candidates under the ITEC programme. 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 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.

Visits of Journalists from Both countries

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.

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. The event focussed on promotion of tourism 5

between two countries. A brief separate meeting prior to delegation level talks was held between the Hon’ble Minister of Tourism of India, Shri Sahai and Minister of Tourism and Antiquities of Jordan, Nayef Al Fayez held at which Ambassador Dash was also present. The two sides deliberated at length on the means to boost tourism cooperation between the two countries.

Indian Community

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$ 60 million and employing over 9500 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 increasing the number of Indian tourists in Jordan to more than 55,000 in 2013.

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.

Useful Resources:

For more information and latest updates please visit Embassy of India, Amman website: http://indembassy-amman.org/#&panel1-1

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July 2014

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