Jordan and Egypt signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to enhance cooperation in industrial integration between Jordan, Egypt, and Iraq.
Jordan News Agency (Petra) reported that Jordanian Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply Youssef al-Shamali signed the agreement with his Egyptian counterpart Nevin Jameh on the sidelines of Crown Prince Hussein's visit to Cairo.
The Iraqi government will sign the agreement during the upcoming period.
The agreement was based on the outcomes of the Amman-hosted tripartite summit held last year, which emphasized the importance of implementing a package of cooperation projects between the three countries and enhancing coordination and joint strategic integration.
In a press statement, Shamali affirmed Jordan's keenness to enhance cooperation with Egypt in light of the distinguished relations that bind the two countries.
He pointed out that the Crown Prince's visit comes within the framework of strengthening cooperation with Egypt and preparing for a new phase of economic integration.
The two ministers reviewed efforts towards tripartite cooperation and the need to build on the discussions made during the previous months to set a general framework for joint economic integration, remove any obstacles hindering trade, and stimulate industrial cooperation among the three countries' private sectors.
Meanwhile, Cairo plans to reduce a series of fees on trading in Egyptian securities to improve the country's investment environment.
The cabinet issued a statement saying that Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly directed officials and ministers to reduce trade fees on the stock market, payments to the Financial Regulatory Authority, costs to the state-run Misr for Central Clearing, Depository and Registry, and fees to the Investor Protection Fund.
The statement added that the plan includes cutting taxes on realized profit from new offerings by 50 percent for two years, abolishing stamp duty on securities exchange trades for resident investors, and lowering taxes for retail investors participating in stock funds to five percent.
A broker in a securities firm, who asked not to be named, told Reuters that the securities associations have been lobbying the government for months to get the fees reduced, arguing that they dampen trade to the extent that they lower government revenue.
"This has been a comprehensive effort of all the security associations," said the broker, who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the press. "They have been studying the bottlenecks and obstacles to trade."
He added that it is particularly true with bonds and treasury bills sales.
