Palestinian and Jordanian finance ministers discussing cooperation in the Jordanian capital, Amman. (WAFA Images) 

AMMAN, Monday, July 08, 2019 (WAFA) - The Jordanian and Palestinian governments agreed on automatic linking of customs and the exchange of customs information electronically at their joint crossings within a mechanism that secures the privacy of each party‘s customs, and to use information to facilitate trade, the Palestinian Ministry of Finance announced today.

The agreement was reached at the end of talks held yesterday between Finance Minister Shukri Bishara and his Jordanian counterpart Izz al-Din Kanakariya in the framework of the meetings of the Palestinian-Jordanian Joint High Committee, which held its meetings in the Jordanian capital Amman over the past two days.

The talks between Bishara and Kanakariya focused on enhancing bilateral cooperation in the fields of customs and government financial information management, said the Finance Ministry in a statement detailing the information on the customs cooperation agreement.

It was agreed to exchange information on seizures of smugglers from both sides and to activate what was previously agreed in fighting preventive smuggling through a letter from the Palestinian customs  authority to its Jordanian counterpart regarding what travelers are allowed to bring in with them, particularly cigarette and tobacco to reduce smuggling of these goods.

The two sides also agreed to conduct a joint study on the amendments made by the Jordanian side to the Customs Law of 1962, which is still valid in Palestine.

M.K.