His Majesty King Abdullah arrived home on Saturday from a Latin American tour, where talks and activities focused on ways to bolster economic cooperation and coordination over global and regional issues.

The tour covered Chile, Argentina and Brazil.

In Brazil on Friday, the King underlined the importance of cooperation among Latin American countries to bring prosperity to their people and to play a role in shaping the new global economy. The King also welcomed Brazil's role in boosting the partnership among these countries.

In his address at the opening session of the Jordan Investment Forum that was held in Sao Paulo, the King said: “The new global economy has also brought something else, something extraordinary. And that is an unprecedented role for the developing and emerging economies.”

“Our economic activity is increasingly taking place within the developing world itself,” the King said in his speech, expressing satisfaction over the growing role of the developing countries.

Noting the high pace that the South-South cooperation is growing at, His Majesty told the meeting “as fast as world trade has risen, South-South trade has risen faster”.

“A growing share of outward-investment from developing economies is now being invested in other developing countries,” he added.

Noting the importance of this cooperation, King Abdullah pointed out present challenges, saying: “Despite all the gains, our world still faces huge gaps in global wealth and economic opportunity.”

“For our countries of the South, the future depends on what we do now, to include those who have been excluded... to create opportunities for our young and growing populations... and to take our rightful place in shaping the global economic system,” the King told his audience, including around 500 Brazilian businessmen.

The King commended the economic and cultural role of the Arab community in Brazil, underlining the contribution of the Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce in organising the forum in cooperation with the Jordan Investment Board (JIB) and voicing hope that the forum will help explore further investment opportunities and create more jobs.

Commenting on Jordan's and Brazil's chances of success, the King said: “I believe our countries can succeed. We are on a path forward. We have the knowledge. We have the talent. But we cannot succeed in isolation. We have to work as partners. We have to be proactive.”

“That means a new level of cooperation between us. We need new alliances for development”.

His Majesty underlined the importance of Brazil's role in building South-South ties and its support for Jordan's cooperation agreement with MERCOSUR, a regional Latin American trade alliance, which he said formalises the two sides' intention to establish a free trade agreement (FTA).

“I am hopeful that soon, we can take the next step, to an FTA,” he told the gathering.

Expressing the Kingdom's commitment to enhancing Jordanian-Brazilian cooperation, the King said: “Jordan is committed, not only to our formal partnership with Brazil, but to private sector ties that can drive economic growth on both sides.”

“In Jordan, enabling laws and transparency policies have created positive conditions for investment. Fiscal discipline and sound economic policies have helped us reduce external debt. Foreign currency reserves have quadrupled since 1999. About 90 per cent of government-owned companies have already been privatised, and our goal is 100 per cent. Public investment is being directed towards sustainable development... and the tools our people need to create productive, prosperous lives,” King Abdullah said in his speech.

On Jordanian-Brazilian ties, the King said “cooperation is already under way in the energy sector”, highlighting the exchange of expertise between the two sides and investment in alternative energy.

Accompanying the King at the forum were Their Royal Highnesses Prince Hamzah and Prince Rashid, Royal Court Chief Nasser Lozi, King's Adviser Ayman Safadi, Foreign Minister Salah Bashir, Industry and Trade Minister Amer Hadidi, Jordan's Ambassador to Brazil Ramez Qsous and Brazilian Ambassador to Jordan Fernando de Abreu.

Antonio Sarkis, the president of the Arab-Brazilian commerce chamber, welcomed the King at the forum, underlining Jordan's economic reforms.

Sarkis expressed confidence that the agreements signed between the two countries' private sectors reflect development in the two-way relations.

On the sidelines of the forum, an agreement signed between the Natural Resources Authority and Petrobras on oil shale exploration in Jordan was announced.

Also, Jordan chambers of commerce and industry signed cooperation agreements with the Arab-Brazilian trade chamber to explore the prospects of cooperation between them.

Moreover, JIB signed a memorandum of understanding with its Brazilian counterpart to foster investment opportunities in the two countries.

Meanwhile, the Munir Sukhitian Company signed an agreement with a Brazilian pharmaceutical company.

During the visits to Chile and Argentina, several agreements were signed between Jordan and these Latin American countries covering cooperation in various fields including trade, technology transfer and culture, among others.