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Good afternoon, friends and honored guests. It is my great honor to be here with you today as we mark an historic event in the relationship between the United States of America and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. It is my pleasure to recognize and thank Ambassador Muasher as we conclude the second historic agreement of this day. In recent years, our relationship has grown from its foundation in the Middle East peace process to a broader partnership which extends to economics and trade. The vision the late King Hussein laid out in his address to the 13th Jordanian parliament--of Jordan leading the way toward economic integration in the region, of WTO membership, perhaps of a Middle Eastern free trade zone--is one we share and will pursue together with King Abdullah and his government. This is a vision based on an idealistic vision of trade as a support to peace, and a practical understanding of trade as a means of developing the economy and improving life. The classical Arab historian and philosopher Ibn Khaldun described this very well, writing that: "It is more advantageous and more profitable if a merchant brings goods from a country that is far away. In such a case, the goods transported will be few and rare. Thus, merchandise becomes more valuable when merchants transport it from one country to another." The TIFA will create precisely such benefits for both our countries. Together with the Bilateral Investment Treaty we signed two years ago, it establishes a legal and institutional foundation that makes our trade relationship far deeper and stronger than it is today. It will open a permanent dialogue between the United States and the Kingdom on the basic issues of trade in the modern world: agricultural and industrial standards; intellectual property rights; customs procedures; regulation of service industries; investment; market access; trade-related aspects of labor and environmental policy; private sector dialogue and much more. This dialogue will help Americans invest and trade with the Kingdom, and help Jordanians more easily export to the American market. At the same time, we are continuing our work with Jordan toward accession to the World Trade Organization. Jordan's application for accession to the WTO, together with ongoing efforts to reform its trade and economic structure, provides an excellent foundation for future economic growth and diversification. We strongly support Jordan's WTO membership, and see this as an important part of our broader effort to harness the economic gains from international trade and to expand foreign investment in Jordan. We have a great future together. And I am very proud and happy to be here to sign this agreement today. I thank you all for coming to mark this event. And I look forward to a trade relationship with Jordan that grows and deepens with each passing year. [end of document]
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