Jordantimes, GCC연구소 주관 콜로키움 기사화 "Jordan, S. Korea set stage for f…

AMMAN —Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Imad Fakhoury has concluded a visit to South Korea, during which he delivered a letter from His Majesty King Abdullah to President Park Geun-hye on bilateral ties and regional cooperation.

Fakhoury also held a series of meetings with key figures from the government and the private sector and gave an interview to a leading paper in Seoul, a ministry statement said.

The Royal letter stressed “Jordan’s keenness and solid commitment to further enhancing bilateral relations in different areas of mutual interests as well as outlining ways to deal with developments in regional and international arenas,” the ministry said.

During the three-day visit that concluded Tuesday, the minister met with an array of senior officials from the ministries of foreign affairs, finance and education, in addition to top executives from the Export-Import Bank of Korea, Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and NonHyup Financial Group.

During the meetings, Fakhoury briefed the officials on Jordan’s holistic approach to respond to the Syrian crisis repercussions, which entails developing programmes that would enable Jordan to sustain its services to Syrian refugees. 

The plan can be realised, he said, if Jordan is secured funds, through soft loans and grants, for the 2016-2018 Response Plan for the Syrian refugee crisis “despite its classification as a high middle-income country,” Fakhoury said.

The minister signed an Arrangements Agreement with the EXIM Bank of Korean for a supplementary loan in the amount of $30 million to finance the building of Naur Wastewater Treatment Plant, at a 0.15 per cent interest rate to be paid back in 40 years, with a nine-year grace period. The Korean side provided a loan for the same project in 2006 for $20.8 million.

According to the statement, Fakhoury also discussed with Korean officials new priority areas for cooperation in the development sphere for the coming period including water, education and vocational training. 

The ministry said the Korean side is considering a new support grant to Jordan for the year 2017 under a new initiative “Better Life for Girls” recently launched by the Korean resident to support priority projects in host communities.

The two sides exchanged views on regional issues and Jordan’s geopolitical role in the fight against terrorism and extremist ideology, in addition to bringing back peace and stability to the region.

During the visit, Fakhoury conducted an interview with Chosun ILBO, a key local and the most influential newspaper in Korea. The interview focused on the impact of Syrian refugees, as well as investment opportunities available in Jordan that could be of interest to Korean businesses.

Furthermore, the minister held meetings with executives in two Korean private sector companies: Daewoo International and Doosan, which have implemented projects in the region in the fields of power plants, oil and gas, water desalination, infrastructure, electronics and others. He updated the corporate leaders on the investment and business climate in Jordan and newly introduced business-related legislation, in addition to an overview of new investment opportunities Jordan announced earlier this year in renewable energy (wind and solar), transport, water (Red Sea-Dead Sea Water Conveyance Project), infrastructure, tourism and ICT.

Furthermore, the minister was co-hosted by the Gulf Cooperation Council Institute and the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy where he delivered a lecture on “challenges and opportunities facing the Middle East in 2016” with a special focus on Jordan.

From its side, the Korean officials emphasised the strong partnership between Jordan and Korea. They vowed to continue support for Jordan to maintain its economic resilience at these difficult times and enable Jordan to address challenges ensuing from the Syrian refugees crisis.

The Korean side also expressed interests in exploring prospects of cooperation in the education sector, in particular in educational policy and models, university programmes and the Korean Teachers Dispatch Programme, among others. 

Since 2010, Korea has extended to Jordan $165.5 million of which $23.76 million as grants and $141.7 million as soft loans, according to official figures.