Following his contacts in Amman, the capital of Jordan, which he visited for the Turkey-Jordan Mixed Economic Commission (MEC) Meeting, Minister of Trade Bolat visited the Turkish Cemetery in the city of Salt, where he made assessments regarding the commercial relations between the two countries and their regional implications.
Reminding that the Turkey-Syria transit transport agreement by road was signed by the transport ministers of both countries on June 28 in Istanbul, Minister Bolat said, “(Currently) Turkish trucks can descend to Jordan and the Gulf via Syria. At this point, there are deficiencies such as customs regulations within Syria, road rehabilitation, and the issue of visa regulations, and efforts are being made to complete these. Hopefully, next year this corridor will have fully started.”
Stating that the signatures exchanged between the Turkish and Syrian transport ministers regarding the opening of the road route also generated great excitement in Jordan, Bolat noted the following:
“Because this route extending from Turkey to Europe via Jordan and Syria is a very important trade transport corridor. Likewise, for us, this route starting from Turkey and extending to Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the Gulf countries, and Egypt is a very important transport corridor to the Middle East. Just as it was before 2010, the moment we revitalize these areas with roads and railways, trade and the prosperity of the peoples will rapidly increase.”
Minister Bolat said, “Our esteemed President Erdoğan gave us a clear instruction regarding the development of trade relations between the two countries.”
Work continues for the Hejaz Railway
Noting that both Jordan and Turkey want the repair and renewal of the existing line of the Hejaz railway, Minister Bolat said that work on this is continuing rapidly.
Bolat said, “There is coordination with the Jordanian side on this matter. Such decisions are not made solely by our decisions. It is necessary to persuade the officials of the countries that carry out these works and involve them in the effort.”
Using the expression “The historic Hejaz Railway will be activated, God willing,” Bolat stated that this would be the case not only for freight transport but also for passenger transport.
Emphasizing that there is great interest and affection for Turkey in Jordan, Bolat noted that they will work hard to do justice to this and increase economic relations between the two countries.
Minister Bolat said the following regarding his contacts in Jordan:
“Especially during the Covid-19 period and the subsequent difficult international process, the first official meeting between the Trade Ministers of Turkey and Jordan was held after a long interval. In addition to our bilateral meeting, we held the first meeting of the previously established Turkey-Jordan Mixed Economy Commission. Our technical teams arrived here the day before yesterday and carried out their work with their counterparts here. We signed a memorandum of understanding that will outline the work to be done together in the fields of trade, industry, agriculture, services, tourism, culture, and every area. However, we decided that the agreements to be made mutually by our various ministries will be prepared in the subsequent process. Hopefully, at the next major meeting, probably at a meeting at the leaders’ level between our esteemed President and the King of Jordan, these agreements will be signed collectively. The agreement we signed today is the agreement that puts on paper the roadmap for the agreements, activities, and programs to be carried out in the future.
In this sense, it has been very productive.
Furthermore, the large private sector delegation we brought with us, consisting of Turkey-Jordan Business Council members and other businesspeople, met with their Jordanian counterparts, executives, and businesspeople at a roundtable which we also attended with the Jordanian Minister of Trade. A business forum was also held afterwards. Following the bilateral meeting, we held the inter-delegation Joint Economic Commission meeting and signatures were exchanged. Afterwards, we made a statement to the press regarding the roadmap the two countries will follow.
Trade with Jordan is expected to increase by half a billion compared to last year
Emphasizing that Turkey and Jordan are “extremely close friend and brotherly countries,” Bolat stated, “There is very close contact between our leaders. They meet on international platforms. The mutual trade volume between the two countries reached 1.1 billion dollars (in 2024). In the first 9 months of this year, it has exceeded 1.4 billion dollars. God willing, this figure will exceed one and a half or 1.6 billion by the end of the year.”
Saying, “Our aim is to accelerate the economic integration of Turkey and Jordan. In the field of transportation, God willing, studies to revive the Hejaz Railway have begun,” Minister Bolat concluded his words as follows:
“Our businesspeople and contractors have been invited to the 15 billion dollar development infrastructure projects that will be launched in Jordan starting next year. Among these projects, there is especially a major water project and railway construction. They specifically requested our participation in these. They are very pleased with our contractors. To date, they have successfully completed and contributed 2.3 billion dollars with around 60 projects. The project that brings water to the capital Amman is managed by a Turkish company. As our trade increases, investments are also increasing. These are elements that support each other. There is already great activity in tourism. There are over 30 flights per week between Turkey and Jordan. The Jordanian people love Turkey, the Turks, and our esteemed President very much. According to my counterpart’s statement, a large majority of the Jordanian people visit Turkey multiple times. There is a sympathy and interest for Turkish products in shopping in Jordan.”
