Preparations Underway to Establish Economic City on Iraqi-Jordanian Borders

Yanal Nawaf Al-Barmawy, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Iraqi-Jordanian Company for Industry. (ONA)
Yanal Nawaf Al-Barmawy, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Iraqi-Jordanian Company for Industry. (ONA)
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Preparations Underway to Establish Economic City on Iraqi-Jordanian Borders

Yanal Nawaf Al-Barmawy, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Iraqi-Jordanian Company for Industry. (ONA)
Yanal Nawaf Al-Barmawy, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Iraqi-Jordanian Company for Industry. (ONA)

The Iraqi-Jordanian Company for Industry announced an open international tender to build a joint economic city on the border between the two countries.

The company added that the developer will finance, implement, manage, invest, promote and operate the planned economic city and maintain its facilities.

Yanal Nawaf Al-Barmawy, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Company, explained that the project would be built on an area of 22 million square meters allocated from the border lands of Jordan and Iraq, with the aim to enhance bilateral economic cooperation, and contribute to Arab economic integration in a number of fields.

In a statement to Oman News Agency, Barmawy noted that the project seeks to bring about the required development in the eastern regions of Iraq and the western regions of Jordan, reduce unemployment, revitalize the logistical sectors, increase exports, and meet the needs of the two countries’ markets for various commodities.

He also said that the city will be established and developed in three stages, and will include industrial, commercial and logistical components, as well as centers for the promotion of business, finance, education, health, transportation, housing, in addition to construction, infrastructure and green spaces.

Work on the project is expected to begin during the first quarter of 2024.



Biden Admin Delays Enforcement of Order Blocking Nippon Steel, US Steel Deal

FILE PHOTO: The logos of Nippon Steel Corp. are displayed at the company headquarters in Tokyo, Japan March 18, 2019. REUTERS/Yuka Obayashi/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The logos of Nippon Steel Corp. are displayed at the company headquarters in Tokyo, Japan March 18, 2019. REUTERS/Yuka Obayashi/File Photo
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Biden Admin Delays Enforcement of Order Blocking Nippon Steel, US Steel Deal

FILE PHOTO: The logos of Nippon Steel Corp. are displayed at the company headquarters in Tokyo, Japan March 18, 2019. REUTERS/Yuka Obayashi/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The logos of Nippon Steel Corp. are displayed at the company headquarters in Tokyo, Japan March 18, 2019. REUTERS/Yuka Obayashi/File Photo

The Biden administration will hold off enforcing a requirement laid out in an executive order this month that Nippon Steel abandon its $14.9 billion bid for US Steel, the companies said on Saturday.

US President Joe Biden blocked Nippon Steel's planned acquisition of US Steel on national security grounds on Jan. 3, and his Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said this week that the proposed deal had received a "thorough analysis" by interagency review body, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.

The delay will give the courts time to review a legal challenge brought by the parties earlier this month against Biden's order. The parties previously had 30 days to unwind their transaction, Reuters reported.
"We are pleased that CFIUS has granted an extension to June 18, 2025 of the requirement in President Biden's Executive Order that the parties permanently abandon the transaction," the companies said in a joint statement.
"We look forward to completing the transaction, which secures the best future for the American steel industry and all our stakeholders," they said.
US Steel and Nippon Steel alleged in a lawsuit on Monday that the CFIUS review was prejudiced by Biden's longstanding opposition to the deal, denying them of a right to a fair review. They asked a federal appeals court to overturn Biden's decision to allow them a fresh review to secure another shot at closing the merger.
The US Treasury secretary chairs the CFIUS panel, which screens foreign acquisitions of US companies and other investment deals for national security concerns. CFIUS normally decides directly on cases or submits recommendations to the president, but in the US Steel-Nippon Steel case, the panel failed to reach consensus on whether Biden should to approve or reject it, leaving the decision to him.
Both Biden and his successor, Republican Donald Trump, had voiced opposition to the Japanese company acquiring the American steelmaker as the candidates courted union votes in the November election won by Trump.
CFIUS has rarely rejected deals involving the Group of Seven closely allied countries, which include Japan.