AMMAN — Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Saleh Kharabsheh on Thursday received a delegation from Uzbekistan, headed by Deputy Minister of Mining and Geology Rustam Yusupov, to discuss enhancing cooperation in the mining sector.

The meeting focused on joint collaboration and the development of bilateral relations, particularly in the exploration and extraction of phosphate, uranium, and rare earth minerals.

A draft Memorandum of Understanding, provided to the Uzbek side, is expected to be signed in the near future to facilitate knowledge exchange and investment in this strategic sector, according to a Ministry statement.

Kharabsheh welcomed the delegation, emphasising the importance of opening new avenues for technical and scientific cooperation, in line with the aspirations of His Majesty King Abdullah and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

He highlighted that a phosphate exploration study, launched in December 2021, identified an initial geological reserve in the Risha area in eastern Jordan estimated at 700 million metric tonnes in the first phase of the project. He added that the government aims to fully utilise Jordan’s mineral wealth, noting that the Kingdom lies within the Arab Nubian Shield, one of the world’s richest mineral regions.

Yusupov said that Uzbek mining companies are keen to invest in Jordan’s mining sector, describing the meeting as the beginning of broader cooperation with the Ministry of Energy, with Uzbek firms preparing technical programmes to exploit natural resources in ways that benefit both countries and support development.

He added that joint teams from both countries would conduct economic and technical studies and collect samples from agreed mining sites.

The meeting was attended by Energy Ministry Secretary-General Amani Azzam, Directors of Planning and International Cooperation Bushra Abadi and Directors of Geology and Mining at the Ministry Hisham Zyoud.

The Uzbek delegation included officials from the Ministry of Mining and Geology and representatives of several Uzbek mining companies.

The visit follows King Abdullah’s recent trip to Uzbekistan and his meeting with President Mirziyoyev in Samarkand, where both leaders reiterated their commitment to strengthening ties and agreed to deepen cooperation across political, economic, investment, cultural, and humanitarian sectors.

Plans were also outlined to hold the first Jordan-Uzbekistan Economic Forum and to activate the Jordanian-Uzbek Trade Council to enhance direct business partnerships.

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