UAE’s ADQ to invest $5bn in Jordan’s economy

Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ has completed plans to invest $5 billion in infrastructure and other projects in Jordan.

ADQ has completed the formalities to set up the infrastructure investment fund company, Jordan’s ministry of investment said in a statement.

This initiative is part of the agreement signed with the UAE during last year’s visit to Abu Dhabi by Jordan’s King Abdullah II.

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The projects include a waste-to-energy plant, the operation and management of a multi-purpose port in Aqaba, and the construction of an internal rail network linking mining zones with Aqaba.

The sovereign fund will establish dedicated subsidiary companies for each project in line with Jordan Investment Fund Law.

ADQ is currently evaluating additional projects, the ministry said.

Non-oil trade between the two countries increased by 47 percent in 2022, reaching $4.5 billion, more than double the total in 2020. 

• Jordan’s economic growth to slow on lower tourist arrivals
• Jordan’s exports rise 15% in Q1 despite regional unrest
• ADQ’s first $2.5 billion bond issue four times oversubscribed

Jordan accounted for 8 percent of the UAE’s non-oil foreign trade with Arab nations. The UAE is also Jordan’s fifth biggest global trading partner and second largest among Arab countries after Saudi Arabia.

In November 2023, the UAE’s Ministry of Investment signed a deal with the government of Jordan to explore potential opportunities across a range of sectors worth more than $2 billion.

The UAE’s direct investments into Jordan last year amounted to $4 billion and accounted for 14 percent of the total foreign direct investments received by the kingdom.