Amman – U.S. Ambassador to Jordan Alice Wells visited the King Hussein Bridge today to observe passenger and cargo flow across the border with the West Bank. She was joined by U.S. Consul General Donald Blome from Jerusalem, U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission Leslie Tsou from Tel Aviv, and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State and Coordinator for Foreign Assistance Richard Albright.
Minister of Public Works and Housing Sami Halasa and Jordanian officials from other ministries and agencies also participated in the visit.
“The United States is committed to helping Jordan expand exports to the West Bank and other markets,” Ambassador Wells said. “We welcome Jordanian efforts to continue to improve and expand cargo and passenger traffic in both directions.”
Ambassador Wells also commended Jordanian officials for their efforts in streamlining processes for passengers and cargo transiting the border between Jordan and the West Bank. She also noted the Government of Jordan has made significant progress and continues to enhance its border security and trade control system.
To this end, earlier this year, the U.S. donated a mobile scanning system to help decrease processing times for shipments while increasing Jordan’s capabilities to inspect for weapons and other items of concern.
Over 70,000 trucks and 1.7 million passengers transited the border in 2016. Jordanian exports to the West Bank increased over 25 percent from 2014 to 2015, and the West Bank is becoming an increasingly important trade partner for Jordan following the closure of the Iraqi and Syrian borders.
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