Sitharaman and Jordan minister discuss trade in Doha

India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman met Jordan’s Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, Zeina Zeid Toukan, in Doha on September 28, where they discussed trade and broader cooperation between the two countries, according to accounts of the meeting. Sitharaman cited a bilateral trade target of $5 billion by 2030, but the reports did not establish that the meeting produced an agreement or specific follow-up commitments. The meeting took place on the sidelines of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank’s annual meeting in Doha. The two ministers discussed cooperation in areas including food security, fertilizers, trade and investment. Sitharaman noted that India is Jordan’s fourth-largest trading partner, according to the Indian Finance Ministry’s account. The ministry also said Toukan described India as a critical market for Jordan and expressed interest in continuing cooperation in fertilizers, energy, water and infrastructure, as well as in investment opportunities in Jordan. Those additional details were attributed to the Indian ministry; no separate Jordanian account of the meeting was included in the reports.