Bilateral Relations
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Their Majesties King Abdullah II and Queen Rania welcome the Governor-General of Australia, Sir Peter Cosgrove, and Lady Cosgrove to Jordan in October 2017. |
Australia established diplomatic relations with Jordan in 1975. The Jordanian Embassy in Canberra was opened in 1976 and the Australian Embassy in Amman was established in 1979.
Australia and Jordan have a warm and increasingly diverse relationship underpinned by longstanding defence and security cooperation, shared interests, and well as growing trade and commercial engagement.
Australia’s links with Jordan extend back over a century: Australia deployed military forces to the Middle East during World War One. And in early 1918, Australian Light Horse infantry crossed the Jordan River from Jerusalem to support the military campaign of the ‘Great Arab Revolt’ against Ottoman rule.
The political and economic relationship has been supported by regular high-level contact, including Ministerial-level visits and parliamentary delegations over recent years. In November 2016, HRH King Abdullah II and HRH Queen Rania visited Canberra and Sydney. There have been a number of high-level visits by Australians to Jordan, including the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, the Hon Richard Marles MP, in May 2026; the Minister for International Development, the Hon Anne Aly MP, in October 2025; and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator the Hon Penny Wong, in January 2024.
Doing Business
Australia's principal exports to Jordan are meat products, other agricultural commodities, and education services. In 2024-25 two-way goods and services trade was $348.7 million ($217.2 million in exports to Jordan and $131.5 million in imports from Jordan). Australia’s major exports to Jordan include meat ($102.5 million), other agricultural commodities, and education-related travel ($29 million).
Austrade's office in Riyadh is responsible for promoting trade with Jordan. Austrade has information on doing business in Jordan and market profiles of priority sectors, such as education, food, health and medical. Australian companies interested in exploring business opportunities in Jordan are encouraged to contact Austrade or the Embassy in Amman.
See also: Doing Business with Australia
Development Assistance
Australia has committed over $140 million in funding since 2017 to support Jordan’s humanitarian response to the ongoing crisis in Syria and, more recently, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza from the war that followed the 7 October 2023 attacks. Australia actively supports the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organisation (JHCO) by providing direct funding and essential supplies to facilitate vital humanitarian operations in Gaza and the region.
For more information on Australia’s recent humanitarian assistance to the region, see Regional conflicts in the Middle East.
The Direct Aid Program (DAP) is a small grants program that is available on a not-for-profit basis to individuals, community groups and NGOs engaged in development activities in Jordan. It focuses on small-scale development projects that can provide direct benefits to those most in need in the local community.