Jordan – “An Island of Stability”

On January 17, 2011, the Jordanian Business Day, organized by the EMA e.V., was held with lively participation by Jordanian and German participants in the plenary hall of the Chamber of Commerce of Hamburg. In cooperation with the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce and with the kind support of the Honorary Consulate of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in Hamburg and the German-Jordanian Society, perspective developments of business in Jordan were tackled, mutual business opportunities were discussed, and important social contacts were made.

Opening and welcome notes

The guests were welcomed by Mr. Heinz Werner Dickmann, Deputy Managing Director and Head of Foreign Trade Promotion at the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce, as well Prof. Dr. Horst H. Siedentopf, President of the EMA.

Mr. Siedentopf presented the EMA shortly, welcomed the guests and thanked the cooperation partners of this business day. Mr. Siedentopf pointed out, in particular, Jordan’s progressive policies, through which educational programs have emerged that opened the country to the international market. However, the market is not yet exhausted, and German companies are most definitely welcome.

The address was given by Dr. Axel Goehler, Honorary Consul of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in Hamburg. Mr. Goehler greeted all the participants, and gave a brief talk about Jordan’s geostrategic importance and tourism potential.

Panel I: Economic Potentials in Jordan – Current developmets and prospects

The first panel was hosted by former UN coordinator Taoufik Ben Amara.

At the beginning, Mr. Elias S. Farraj of the Jordan Investment Board spoke about investment opportunities in Jordan. He emphasized that there are many reasons to invest in Jordan: low costs, supportive platforms, educated and talented workers, strategic location and broad market access.

Dr. Claus Schreiver from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) spoke about business cooperation and development assistance and encouraged to invest in Jordan. He called the main sectors water management, education, poverty reduction, health. Jordan has a stable economy with good legal regulations.

In the next speaking slot, Dr. Stephan Jäger of Amereller Rechtsanwälte gave a comprehensive overview of the legal framework in Jordan, as well as the various corporate structures.

Panel II: Service sector and logistics

Panel II moderator Dr. Stephan Jäger, presented the Lufthansa Consulting spokeswoman Catrin Drawer. Ms. Drawer spoke of her practical experience of the airline’s restructuring and technical assistance to Jordan Airport Company. Mrs. Drawer noted positive as well as encouraging facts and passed on recommendations to the participants.

Dr. Nicolai Scherle and Mr. Markus Pillmayer from the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt talked about the possibilities and challenges for tourism development in Jordan. First, the speakers called the main areas of tourism in Jordan and discussed the DFG project. Finally, they presented a case study from Aqaba and mentioned future perspectives and challenges for tourism in Jordan.

Mr. Fuad F. Bajjali from the software company KeySofts introduced his company, named his experiences and knowledge and explained the cooperation and working model.

Finally, Mr. Jäger, headed to the next spokesman, Mr. Amer Kakish of Philadelphia Consulting, who talked about the service sector in Jordan. Mr Kakish stressed that the service sector is the most important in Jordan – contributing 69% to Jordanian GDP.

Panel III: Pharmaceutical industry and healthcare system

After the lunch break, Birgit Tesic-Kurth from the German-Jordanian Society took over the presentation. The first speaker in this block was Mr. Ernst Odenhausen from the EJO Pharma Service, who spoke about the characteristics and possibilities of cooperation between German pharmaceutical companies and Jordanian manufacturers.

Following, Mr. Christoph Schult from Medent International talked about the challenges of the modern health care system and explained the country’s rapid modernization.

The presenter passed on to the next speaker, Dr. Heinzpeter Moecke from the Asklepios Group, who spoke about knowledge management in Europe’s largest hospital system and presented a new software that bundles the knowledge of the hospital group and connects it with external knowledge.

The final contribution came from Dr.-Ing. Islam Shdaifat by JoVision. Dr. Shdaifat presented a novel method that was developed to detect premature prostate cancer. He also reported on cooperation with companies and institutions in Jordan.

Panel IV: Renewable energy and environment

The moderator, Ms Tesic-Kurth, said at the opening of the fourth panel that there is virtually no energy resources in Jordan, which is why the country is very interested in renewable energies.

Dr. Mohammad Al-Addous from the German-Jordanian University (GJU) highlighted German-Jordanian cooperation in the field of renewable energies. Dr. Al-Addous first explained the energy situation in Jordan and pointed out that the government, industry, trade, household and transport would have to invest in order to achieve an increase in consumption from renewable energies.

Finally, Dr. Axel Goehler, Honorary Consul of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and Managing Director of Newmex Consulting GmbH, spoke about the current state and perspectives of the Jordanian market for renewable energies. Dr. Goehler noted that the government had ambitious plans for 2020 to promote the market of renewable energies. Using a map of the Euro-Mediterranean zone, the favorable location of Jordan, as far as direct exposure to the sun is concerned, is illustrated.

Acknowledgment to all those involved, Prof. Dr. Siedentopf concluded the business day of Jordan and expressed hopes for successful and intensified cooperation in the future.