NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday set an ambitious target of doubling India–Jordan bilateral trade to USD 5 billion over the next five years, as India and Jordan agreed to significantly broaden their economic, strategic and cultural engagement during his visit to Amman.

Addressing the India–Jordan Business Forum alongside King Abdullah II, Modi urged Jordanian companies to tap into India’s rapid economic expansion, underlining India’s position as the world’s fastest-growing major economy and its trajectory towards becoming the third-largest economy globally.

“The relationship between India and Jordan is one where historical trust and future economic opportunities come together,” Modi said.

“Indian companies can use Jordan as a base to reach other countries. We want to build a long-term partnership.”

Jordan is the first stop of Modi’s four-day, three-nation tour, which will also take him to Ethiopia and Oman. The Business Forum was attended by Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah al-Hashimi, Jordan’s Minister of Trade and Industry and the Minister of Investment, reflecting the high-level focus on economic cooperation.

King Abdullah II highlighted the strategic convergence between the two economies, pointing to Jordan’s network of free trade agreements and India’s economic scale.

“With India’s economic power and Jordan’s strategic FTAs, we have the potential to build an economic corridor,” the King said, referring to opportunities linked to the India–Middle East–Europe Corridor and the development of “integrated processing hubs”.

During the forum, Modi also spoke about the scope for Indian and Jordanian companies to jointly participate in the reconstruction of Syria’s infrastructure, signalling a broader regional economic vision beyond bilateral trade.

The visit resulted in a series of Memorandums of Understanding aimed at deepening cooperation across multiple sectors, including new and renewable energy, water resources management, digital transformation and cultural heritage.