His Majesty King Abdullah on Wednesday urged the Jordanian and Turkish private sectors to boost their bilateral partnership, and underlined the need to promote cooperation and establish joint projects that benefit both in terms of job creation and trade exchange.

King Abdullah made the remarks at the Turkey-Jordan Economic Cooperation Meeting, organised by the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) on the sidelines of His Majesty's official visit to Turkey.

"This meeting is an opportunity to deepen and develop cooperation between the two countries to promote such partnership," he added.

Despite regional challenges, opportunities are available and can be seized through the promotion of partnerships among countries in the Middle East, the King said, pointing out that Jordan is a "strategic gateway for investors to access regional and global markets.”

The King highlighted Jordan’s investment-friendly regulations and laws, as well as its commitment to working with Turkey to strengthen economic cooperation, trade, and promote tourism.

The Free Trade Agreement between Jordan and Turkey has provided great opportunities for enhancing trade and investment and contributed to raising the volume of trade exchange, the King said.

"Despite the fact that the Arab Spring had a negative economic impact on regional countries, it also provided an opportunity for these countries to work to explore ways of developing cooperation ties in the economic fields," His Majesty noted.

He called on the Turkish business community to explore opportunities so as to increase economic cooperation with Jordan in the fields of trade, information technology, communications, tourism, manufacturing, energy, water, and transportation.

"Jordan's location in the heart of the Middle East is a gateway to the Arabian Gulf and US markets," the King said, adding that Turkish investors can benefit from the free trade agreements Jordan signed with other countries to reach one billion consumers.

His Majesty voiced hope for a new phase of economic cooperation and trade partnership between Jordan and Turkey "to serve the economic aspirations of both countries".

TOBB President Rifat Hisarckloglu said Jordan is one of Turkey's strategic partners in the Middle East. Jordan plays a pioneering and crucial role in political and economic development in the region, he said, adding that this is why peace and prosperity in Jordan means peace and prosperity in the Middle East.

He noted the comprehensive reforms in Jordan, affirming that they will play a key role in attracting more investors to the Kingdom.

Chairman of Jordan Businessmen Association Hamdi Tabbaa gave a briefing on Jordan’s incentives for investors, calling on Turkish businessmen to promote their investments in the Kingdom and launch new projects.

Tabbaa also noted a number of Turkish investments in the Kingdom, mainly the Disi project, which is being implemented by a consortium of seven Turkish companies.

Tabbaa highlighted a number of agreements between Jordan and Turkey to enhance investments, trade and tourism.