AMMAN — The UAE government held a virtual seminar on Monday to showcase investment opportunities for Jordanian investors and entrepreneurs in the Gulf country.

 

The conference was held in cooperation with the Jordanian Business Association in the UAE.

 

The conference was part of the UAE’s new economic initiative to boost the Gulf country’s economic competitiveness and attract $150 billion in foreign direct investment over the next nine years.

 

“Jordan and the UAE have always had strong economic, cultural and historical ties,” Thani Ahmad Zyoudi, the UAE’s foreign trade minister, stated during the virtual seminar attended by The Jordan Times. 

 

Zyoudi added that the UAE government has introduced the “modernisation of visas and work permits”, to create a conducive environment for investors to expand their businesses. They have also introduced freelance visas for self-employed workers, as well as the “Green Visa” and the “Golden Visa”. 

 

Zyoudi noted that a number of Jordanian investors and entrepreneurs have the Green Visa and the Golden Visa, either through their large investments in the UAE, or because they are highly skilled individuals.

 

“The Green Visa will allow the sponsorship of young people until the age of 25 instead of 18, will extend the grace period for leaving the country upon job loss or retirement to 90-180 days instead of 30 days, and will allow for parent sponsorship. This will help create family stability for UAE residents,” Zyoudi stated.

 

“There is a big investment opportunity for Jordanians in the real estate sector and the financial sector,” said Zyoudi. 

 

“Jawaker, which was recently sold for over $200 million, is a digital company established in the UAE by Jordanian entrepreneurs,” Omar Sultan, UAE’s artificial intelligence and digital transformation minister, said during the seminar.

 

Sultan highlighted that many international digital companies exist in the UAE, which creates a good environment for globalisation.

 

 “The UAE is an integrated incubator for entrepreneurship and emerging projects, it is also an advanced laboratory for new economic opportunities,” Sultan said, adding “therefore, the UAE government is investing in technology and creating new visas to attract and retain residents and skilled workers”.

 

Sultan stated that the residency of 200 different nationalities in the UAE creates a strong environment for collecting data and therefore, eases business globalisation and development. 

 

Currently, there are over 200,000 Jordanians living in the UAE, Ehsan Qatawneh, the board director of the Jordan Business Association in the UAE, said during the seminar.

 

Qatawneh added that Jordanian youth are qualified in the technological field; therefore, he encourages the UAE government to invest in Jordanian youth.