US embassy cable - 02AMMAN4864

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 004864 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
FSI FOR DIRECTOR KATHY PETERSON AND LISA FOX/ED KASKA 
USTR FOR SAUMS/BELL 
USDOC FOR 4520/ITA/MAC/ONE/PTHANOS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON, BEXP, PREL, JO 
SUBJECT: JORDAN'S DIPLOMATS FOCUS ON TRADE AND INVESTMENT 
 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED. 
 
1.  (sbu)  Summary.  Reflecting the emphasis he has put 
on economic and commercial development and the growing 
private sector export and investment orientation of 
Jordan's economy, King Abdullah personally launched a 
four-day USAID-supported economic/commercial training 
program for Jordanian ambassadors on August 14.  This 
follows a decision by the king to reorient the work of 
Jordan's ambassadors, who have traditionally focused on 
political and cultural activities, toward increased 
support for Jordan's business community -- as symbolized 
by the appointment of prominent businessman Karim Kawar 
as ambassador to the United States.  The foreign ministry 
is planning to follow up with a broader econ/commercial 
training initiative for all of Jordan's diplomatic corps. 
End summary. 
 
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King Opens Investment Promotion Forum 
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2.  (sbu)  On August 14, King Abdullah officially opened 
a four-day conference designed to train and encourage 
Jordanian ambassadors to increase their focus on 
promoting investment and trade.  The August 13-16 
program, which had low-profile funding support from 
USAID's AMIR program, included short modules on the roles 
of Jordan's various trade promotion agencies (JIB, 
JEDCO).  In addition, respective economic ministers gave 
presentations on the work of the ministries of trade, 
telecom, finance, and planning.  The Charge gave a well- 
received presentation on opportunities for Jordanian 
ambassadors to use the U.S.-Jordan FTA to promote 
Jordanian trade as well as inward and outward investment. 
The EU charge gave a similar presentation. 
 
3.  (u)  The program also featured familiarization visits 
to Jordan's largest industrial estate, a Qualified 
Industrial Zone (QIZ), and a tour of the new Aqaba 
Special Economic Zone, in an effort to enthuse the 
assembled ambassadors about the kingdom's most promising 
export sectors and its comparative advantages as an 
investment destination.  Ambassadors by and large came 
away energized about promoting investment in their 
countries of responsibility, and the program was deemed a 
success by both foreign ministry reps and by the palace's 
economic unit, which organized the program. 
 
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King Heralds New Focus for Ambassadors 
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4.  (sbu)  This first-of-its-kind program was an 
outgrowth of the king's desire to have ambassadors abroad 
do more commercial work.  An indication of this shift was 
the king's appointment of Karim Kawar, a successful IT 
entrepreneur with no previous government experience, to 
be Jordan's ambassador in Washington.  According to 
Kawar, the king told him upon his appointment:  "You 
focus on trade and investment promotion; handling the 
political relationship is my job."  Kawar said the king 
instructed him that his first responsibility would be to 
create success stories from the FTA. 
 
5.  (u)  The king reiterated this message to all his 
ambassadors during the opening.  To encourage this new 
focus, the king announced that, starting in 2003, the 
palace would present an award to the ambassador with the 
most impressive economic performance each year.  He 
highlighted the expanding role of Jordan's private sector 
as the motor of economic growth. 
 
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Comment 
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6.  (sbu)  This program is further evidence of the 
seriousness with which the king and Jordan treat economic 
and commercial issues.  In addition to the USAID support, 
the embassy's econ section worked with the foreign 
ministry and the king's economic advisor to design the 
program.  As part of our ongoing effort to press ahead 
with effective implementation of the FTA, we will 
encourage similar training activities in the future with 
segments devoted to the FTA.  In the short term, we will 
continue to follow-up with the palace and ministry by 1) 
providing information on the State Department's Cobb 
Award, and 2) working with them to design a broader trade 
and investment promotion training program for Jordanian 
diplomats, which will be led by the foreign ministry's 
Diplomatic Institute.  We will continue our initial 
discussions with NFATC regarding its possible help in 
developing such a program. 
Berry