There are at least 60,000 Jordanians working in various sectors in Doha.

Jordan’s Prime Minister Bisher Al Khasawneh arrived in Qatar on Sunday on a working visit as the two countries further expand their bilateral trade ties, the Gulf state’s news agency reported.

Al Khasawneh was received by Qatar’s Minister of Finance Ali bin Ahmed Al Kuwari. 

According to Jordan’s news agency (Petra), the Jordanian official is scheduled “to have a series of meetings in Doha” with top Qatari officials in an effort to discuss economic development and investment opportunities.

The Jordanian diplomat will be meeting Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed Al Thani to further expand cooperation.

“The Jordanian ministers accompanying Khasawneh are the state for prime ministry affairs minister, the finance minister, the investment minister and the tourism minister,” Petra reported.

Growing trade relations

The Jordanian prime minister’s visit comes as Qatar and Jordan witness growing ties in all fields, including the economic sector.

Jordanian media reported on Monday that Amman recorded a trade surplus of around 385 million QAR (around $106 million) with Qatar in 2022.

The reported figure represents a major growth in the two countries’ trade.

Last year, the bilateral trade reached around 765 million QAR (around $210) whereas it recorded more than 595 million QAR (around $164 million) in 2021.

Jordan’s exports to Qatar also hit more than 574 million QAR (around $158 million) in 2022 in comparison to an estimated 467 million QAR (more than $128 million) in the previous year.

Meanwhile, Qatar’s exports to Jordan reached an approximate 190 million QAR (more than $52 million) in 2022 in comparison to more than 128 million QAR (more than $35 million) in 2021.

According to Jordanian media reports, citing Amman’s Department of Statistics, the Hashemite Kingdom’s main exports to Qatar include foodstuffs that are fresh and processed. 

Qatar’s main exports to Jordan include chemicals and plastics.

Last year, reports stated that Qatar sought to increase food imports from Jordan to meet the growing demand at the time of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Jordan also provided Qatar with security assistance at the time of the major tournament, where other countries sent their police personnel to manage millions of fans.

There are at least 60,000 Jordanians working in various sectors in Doha, whilst more than 1,100 joint Qatari-Jordanian companies operate from Qatar in the trade, contracting, construction, interior design, and maintenance sectors.

In 2020, Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani visited Jordan for the first time since 2014, where he offered to provide 10,000 jobs for Jordanians. He had also pledged $30 million in assistance to the Amman’s military pension fund.