Aqaba, Sept. 2 (Petra) — Chief Commissioner of the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) Shadi Majali met with Japan’s Ambassador to Jordan Hideki Asari to discuss ways to enhance cooperation and develop promising investment opportunities in the economic and tourism sectors, artificial intelligence and advanced skills projects, and the reinforcement of digital infrastructure.

Majali, in a meeting attended by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) representative Morihata Shingo and the agency’s team in Jordan, underlined the depth of historic Jordan–Japan ties and the importance of building on them to serve mutual interests.

He praised JICA’s pivotal role in supporting the update of Aqaba’s 2040 comprehensive urban masterplan and preparing the smart-city masterplan, as well as backing the development of the “ASK AQABA” smart assistant system that employs artifical intellegence (AI) to improve the user experience in tourism and investment services.

He also presented the incentives and advantages the ASEZA offers to encourage investors and businesspeople to invest in the ASEZA, highlighting its safe, stable and attractive business climate, its ability to draw and localize Japanese investments, its strategic location linking continents, and Jordan’s free-trade agreements with many countries qualifying Aqaba to be a key export gateway and an optimal trade route in the region.

For his part, Asari underlined the importance and distinctive status of the ASEZA, noting his country’s interest in reviewing available opportunities and strengthening future cooperation in AI, green industries and alternative energy, and in transforming Aqaba into a smart city, in a manner that advances bilateral economic relations to higher levels.

//Petra// AO
02/09/2025 14:43:12