Al-Anbat- SABAA AL-SUKKAR

Translated by: MAYS ALSHAWABKEH 

 Jordan has excellent logistical opportunities due to its advantageous position.

Mujahid: This industry need attention, and modernization initiatives must prioritize it.

Zawana: The development of the Russian-Ukrainian situation will have an impact on Jordan. 

Through its direct influence on the price of goods, the volume of supply and demand, and the impact on access to different products and markets in the local and global economy, the transport and logistics industry is highlighted regionally and globally. In a report titled "Building ties for competition 2016, logistics for trade in the global economy," the World Bank identified logistics as the main driver of economic growth. 

According to a Ministry of Investment report on the industry of transportation and logistics , the sector is crucial to the expansion of the Kingdom's economy. It provides roughly 8.2% of GDP at an annual growth rate of 6%. Additionally, Jordan's workforce is employed at a rate of approximately 7.6%, creating about 126 thousand jobs. The Kingdom is currently attempting to create a competitive environment for innovation, research, and development on a regional scale. According to the website of the Ministry of Electronic Investment, this supports Jordan's high value added for the benefit of businesses in the transport and services industry, which includes 325 licensed transport and logistics companies. 

Jordan has a very good possibility in this regard, according to the report. At the intersection of Asia, Africa, and Europe, it occupies a vital location. Additionally, it continues to be a commercial hub for a number of nations and a transit location for commodities going to and coming from Jordan and other Arab and foreign nations. Additionally, the Kingdom's strategic location continues to give it a competitive advantage in the field of international transportation and logistics, considerably boosting the country's total economic expansion. 

Jameel Mujahid, a former transport minister, called attention to Al-Anbat in a special speech "The coronavirus pandemic is causing a lot of issues for the transportation and logistics industry. In 2018, Jordan dropped from 67th to 84th on the Logistics Performance Index. The main causes of this drop include Jordan's weak infrastructure, ineffective customs procedures and the clearance of goods at border posts, the low efficiency of companies in the transport and logistics sector, and the delayed arrival and follow-up of shipments." 

The coronavirus epidemic has had a significant detrimental impact on the US economy. Due to the production halt and declining supply and demand, indicating the impact of the pandemic's disruption on global supply chains and fundamental transportation networks as a result of border closures and the introduction of numerous safety restrictions and protocols that have significantly reduced the transport of people and goods to the industry, as well as their impact on the transport of goods and products, and on clearance procedures; this led to delays.

Beginning in 2023, it was anticipated that the transportation and logistics industry would recover from the coronavirus pandemic's consequences. However, the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict once more misled the industry and caused supply chains to break down, which increased transport costs and decreased the number of containers transported. Additionally, some ports had to be closed because of traffic and delayed shipments, which resulted in higher prices for food and goods as well as gas and oil. 

In terms of trade, Jordan and Ukraine have moderately close ties, but the war's effects on global supply chains and the Jordanian market's reliance on imports have caused many goods and food commodities to become significantly more expensive. Burns have also become more expensive in the Kingdom as a result of the war's effects on travel costs and other economic sectors, particularly tourism.

The coronavirus pandemic and the Russian-Ukrainian war have highlighted the significance of the transport and logistics sector locally and globally. This highlights the need to pay attention to this sector and prioritize it in economic modernization programs, addressing the problems and issues that hinder it to be able to meet any future challenges that may occur, he said. The need to develop transportation and logistics infrastructure and use modern technology and technologies in business transactions; the diversification of sources of supply for goods and materials, the removal of any obstacles to transport and trade with neighboring States; the maintenance of the flow of goods and materials, particularly in customs operations and border posts; coordination of the management of the joint border post; and electronic exchange of data. 

For his part, political economist Zayan Zwanah said Al-Anabat that Jordan has been impacted by the pandemic's impacts on the junction of global trade in terms of transit and insurance costs as far as the rest of the globe is concerned. The current wave of inflation has been significantly impacted negatively by containers and supply disruptions, which have been made worse by the synchronization of crises. Prices rose as a result of the Ukrainian-Russian crisis, especially for gasoline, fertilizer, food, and other items. 

Jordan has not noticed any negative effects on neighborhood logistical operations. Without any obstacles, stating that the Ukrainian-Russian crisis has clear global implications, where uncertainty has increased, markets have fluctuated up and down, believing that the crisis is still open to all possibilities, especially after Russia's decision to annex territory to it, and incidents of sabotage on lines (Nord Stream 1 + 2 ) in a same line, a World Bank report stated that the Kingdom has enormous potential to serve as a hub for numerous regional industries. Amman, the capital of Jordan, is geographically located to serve as a logistical hub, transit hub, and commercial district. It also has the essential competencies and resources. 80 percent of the total imports from Aqaba into the Kingdom are routed through Amman, the capital of Jordan. 

Companies, local and foreign investors, and nations around the world are all searching for safe, attractive locations to grow their local, regional, and international operations. For local distribution or export to other nations, free zones with top-notch customs clearance facilities, low cost bases, current technology, and digital communications services, as well as effective and experienced human resources, flow to Amman. 

According to the study, Jordan dropped to 56th place in the global competitiveness index for 2022 from 49th place overall, while the Kingdom scored 84th on the logistics performance index for 2018. 

It's important to note that the vision of economic modernization has been anchored in growth priorities on five key growth drivers, particularly the "High Value Industries Engine," which included a plan to modernize the transportation and logistics sector in order to provide sizeable and promising investment opportunities. 

This strategy required modernizing the industry and attempting to utilize the nation's potential more generally by creating a local and regional road plan intended to develop logistics, seaports, and land. Utilizing special and free economic zones, international norms, and particular connections, legislative and regulatory structures that encourage digital efficiency, new technology, and other potential that can be introduced to the Kingdom are present around effective management and digital platforms.