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Jordan, US Agree on Establishing Logistic Airport in Mafraq

Minister of Industry and Trade Yaroub Qudah. (Petra)
Minister of Industry and Trade Yaroub Qudah. (Petra)
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Jordan, US Agree on Establishing Logistic Airport in Mafraq

Minister of Industry and Trade Yaroub Qudah. (Petra)
Minister of Industry and Trade Yaroub Qudah. (Petra)

The Jordanian government has reached a deal with a US company to establish an airport for logistics services in Mafraq, which is located northeast of the capital Amman, close to the Jordanian-Syrian border and on the international road connecting Jordan with Iraq.

Minister of Industry and Trade Yaroub Qudah announced this deal on Saturday during the Silk Road 3 Conference in Amman, organized by the Palestinian-Jordanian Business Forum.

Inaugurating the Conference, Qudah explained that the project is part of a comprehensive plan to enable Jordan to play an effective role in the regional reconstruction projects in the region.

He noted that the government had prepared a plan with the World Bank to render the Kingdom a main platform for regional reconstruction projects, in cooperation with other neighboring countries.

The conference, which was attended by 500 businessmen from 30 Arab and foreign countries, was established in 2011 by numerous business figures from different economic sectors and dedicated to promote investment in Jordan.

President of the Jordan Businessmen Association Hamdi Tabbaa hoped that the conference will succeed in promoting the Kingdom as a regional investment center among participants.

He noted that business entrepreneurship and start-up projects are the major contributors to economic development, while poverty and unemployment are the main challenges in the Arab world.

For his part, Jordanian-Palestinian Business Forum Chairman Talal Al Bau said that the government has produced laws that help provide the facilities needed by local and foreign investors.

He said the presence of businessmen from 30 countries underlines the fact that Jordan is rich in investment opportunities and is an attractive and secure investment destination.

Bau said that the forum, which comprises 250 member businessmen, looks to the Palestinian market as a higher Jordanian interest that has to be supported to get rid of dependency on the Israeli economy, whose annual exports to Palestine amount to five billion dollars.

Khalil Rizq, president of the Palestinian union of commercial, industrial and agricultural chambers, said that Jordan is Palestine’s gateway to the world, noting that achieving economic growth is a main motive behind efforts to enhance the resilience of Palestinians and help them confront Israeli policies.

Investing in Palestine is a religious, national, moral and social responsibility of the private sectors in the Arab and Islamic worlds, he said, calling for holding joint investment projects with the Palestinian private sector.

Rizq urged Jordanian and Palestinian businessmen to increase the volume of trade exchange that stood in 2016 at JD126 million.

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Saudi Arabia Makes History with Adoption of Riyadh Treaty on Design Law

Photo of the Riyadh Diplomatic Conference on the Design Law Treaty (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Photo of the Riyadh Diplomatic Conference on the Design Law Treaty (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia Makes History with Adoption of Riyadh Treaty on Design Law

Photo of the Riyadh Diplomatic Conference on the Design Law Treaty (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Photo of the Riyadh Diplomatic Conference on the Design Law Treaty (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi Arabia has made history by uniting the 193 member states of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to adopt the Riyadh Treaty on Design Law. This landmark achievement, realized after two decades of deliberation, underscores the Kingdom’s leadership in enhancing the global intellectual property system.

The announcement came at the conclusion of the Riyadh Diplomatic Conference on the Design Law Treaty, a rare event for WIPO, which has not held a diplomatic conference outside Geneva for more than a decade. It was also the first such event hosted in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East, representing the final stage of negotiations to establish an agreement aimed at simplifying and standardizing design protection procedures across member states.

Over the past two weeks, intensive discussions and negotiations among member states culminated in the adoption of the Riyadh Treaty, which commits signatory nations to a unified set of requirements for registering designs, ensuring consistent and streamlined procedures worldwide. The agreement is expected to have a significant positive impact on designers, enabling them to protect their creations more effectively and uniformly across international markets.

At a press conference held on Friday to mark the event’s conclusion, CEO of the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property Abdulaziz Al-Suwailem highlighted the economic potential of the new protocol.

Responding to a question from Asharq Al-Awsat, Al-Suwailem noted the substantial contributions of young Saudi men and women in creative design. He explained that the agreement will enable their designs to be formally protected, allowing them to enter markets as valuable, tradable assets.

He also emphasized the symbolic importance of naming the convention the Riyadh Treaty, stating that it reflects Saudi Arabia’s growing influence as a bridge between cultures and a global center for innovative initiatives.

The treaty lays critical legal foundations to support designers and drive innovation worldwide, aligning with Saudi Arabia’s vision of promoting international collaboration in the creative industries and underscoring its leadership in building a sustainable future for innovators.

The agreement also advances global efforts to enhance creativity, protect intellectual property, and stimulate innovation on a broader scale.

This achievement further strengthens Saudi Arabia’s position as a global hub for groundbreaking initiatives, demonstrating its commitment to nurturing creativity, safeguarding designers’ rights, and driving the development of creative industries on an international scale.

The Riyadh Diplomatic Conference, held from November 11 to 22, was hosted by the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property and attracted high-ranking officials and decision-makers from WIPO member states.