Islamabad, June 27, SPA -- Pakistan is keen to further expand and strengthen the multifaceted cooperation with Jordan in diplomatic, political, economic, social, cultural, defence and security fields, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has said Tuesday. Talking to Ms. Suhair Al-Ali, Jordan’s Minister for Planning and International Cooperation, Aziz said that the two countries are bound in ties of shared faith, culture and values and have historically enjoyed close and brotherly relations. The Prime Minister emphasized the need for early signing of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in order to fully leverage the considerable potential of boosting trade and investment between the two countries.Aziz said that the existing volume of trade between Pakistan and Jordan is way below its potential, which would increase after the FTA between the two countries is signed. Aziz said Pakistan is a country of 160 million people with a per capita income of $847. Its economy of $135 billion is growing rapidly between six to eight per cent. He expressed the hope that the current session of the Pak-Jordan Joint Ministerial Commission in Islamabad will lead to tangible and mutually beneficial results. He emphasized that the Pak-Jordan Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC) should meet regularly in order to become an effective instrument to expand trade and explore opportunities of investment in each other’s countries. Ms Suhair Al-Ali described her meeting with Prime Minister as excellent and productive. She said many avenues of cooperation including agriculture, education, free trade zones and vocational training came under discussion during the meeting. --SPA 27/06/2006 15:35 ت م www.spa.gov.sa/371639