Aqaba: Aqaba Chamber of Commerce and Egypt's Chamber Of Commerce - Red Sea signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Saturday to enhance economic and tourism cooperation and explore the prospect of launching a direct shipping line connecting Aqaba with Hurghada and Sharm El Sheikh.
According to Jordan News Agency, the MoU was inked during a visit by a delegation of the Aqaba chamber to Hurghada. The Jordanian side was represented by the chamber's vice president Ahmed Kiswani, while the Egyptian side was headed by Red Sea Chamber of Commerce President Khaled Abdel-Jalil.
Kiswani described the agreement as a key step towards strengthening economic cooperation and improving the efficiency of trade exchange. He added that discussions focused on enhancing food supply chains and launching a direct passenger shipping line between Aqaba, Hurghada, and Sharm El Sheikh. This initiative is expected to support tourism and investment and bolster the maritime transport sector and related logistics services.
The talks also addressed cooperation in specialized tourism, particularly through strengthening partnerships between diving centers in Aqaba and their counterparts in the Red Sea. The discussions included exchanging expertise and marketing a joint tourism product that reflects the environmental diversity and coral reefs of both regions.
Kiswani highlighted that the signing enhances Aqaba's position as an economic and tourism hub in the Red Sea region and opens new horizons for investment in logistics, food industries, and integrated tourism.
Additionally, the Aqaba Chamber of Commerce team engaged in discussions with Arab Bridge Maritime Company Director Adnan Abadleh to explore ways to boost maritime transport and facilitate trade and travel via the Aqaba-Nuweiba sea route.