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AMMAN — Deputising for Prime Minister Omar Razzaz, Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Mohammad Khalaileh on Thursday opened the 12th session of the Executive Council of the Awqaf Ministers' Conference in the Islamic World 2019 in Amman.

The conference comes in light of the “exceptional circumstances” that Muslim nations are facing, Khalaileh said, especially as Jerusalem and its Muslim holy sites are exposed to attempts to undermine them, particularly Al Aqsa Mosque/Al Haram Al Sharif, the Jordan News Agency, Petra reported.

He added that the occupation authorities in Jerusalem are provoking Muslims through subjecting their holy sites to occupiers and extremists. 

He also said that Jerusalem will remain under Hashemite Custodianship, and that its people will remain steadfast in rejecting “material and moral temptations”, and enduring psychological and physical attacks, calling on the council to support the holy city. 

The minister stressed the necessity of reviewing Islamic discourse and the issues related to it.

The time has come to review issues raised over the past decade, he said, noting that Muslims should address extremism, militancy and terrorism that have wrongly emerged from misinterpretation, Petra reported.

For his part, Saudi Minister of Awqaf and Head of the Executive Council Sheikh Abdul Latif Al Sheikh said that the importance of this session comes from the “sensitive circumstances” surrounding Muslims and various challenges that require vigilance and cooperation among Awqaf ministries.

He added that Awqaf ministries carry a “huge responsibly to inform the world about the truth of Islam and its tolerant and humanitarian values, restoring the true and pure image of the religion”.

Sheikh said the meeting seeks to determine some topics to be presented at the ninth general Islamic World's Awqaf Ministers Conference.

Previous conferences, he noted, addressed a number of vital issues related to teaching and preserving the Holy Koran. They also addressed comprehensively enhancing and renewing inter-religious dialogue. 

Sheikh stressed that the Palestinian cause and Jerusalem are “present in the consciences of Arab and Islamic peoples”, and that supporting the Palestinian people’s legitimate rights is a “pivotal issue” for Saudi Arabia.

He noted that naming the 29th Arab Summit held in Dhahran last year the “Jerusalem Summit” is a “true interpretation” of the importance of this issue, and represents the significance of Al Aqsa Mosque. 

AMMAN — Deputising for His Majesty King Abdullah, HRH Prince Ghazi, Chief Advisor to His Majesty for Religious and Cultural Affairs and Personal Envoy of His Majesty, on Thursday met with heads of delegations participating in the 12th session of the Executive Council of the Awqaf Ministers' Conference in the Islamic World 2019.

During the meeting, held at the Al Husseiniya Palace in Amman, Prince Ghazi conveyed King Abdullah's greetings to the conference's attendees, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Discussions during the session covered the development of more programmes to address hate speech, extremism and terrorism, as well as joint human values, coexistence and tolerance.

Among the delegates are Saudi minister of Awqaf and Head of the Executive Council Sheikh Abdul Latif Al Sheikh, Egyptian Minister of Awqaf Muhammad Mabrouk, Pakistani Minister of Awqaf Noor-ul-Haq Qadri, Gambian Minister of Religious Affairs Haj Musa Drammeh, Undersecretary of the Kuwaiti Ministry of Awqaf Farid Imadi, Indonesian Vice Minister of Awqaf Zeinultawhid Saadi and Director at the Moroccan Ministry of Awqaf Abdulqader Karai.

The heads of the delegations expressed their appreciation for the Kingdom's hosting of the 12th session, praising His Majesty's efforts in defending Islam and highlighting Islam's tolerant image. 

The conference aims at enhancing solidarity among Islamic member states and boosting cooperation and coordination in fields related to Islamic affairs and Awqaf.

The executive council comprises Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Kuwait, Egypt, Indonesia, Pakistan, Gambia and Jordan, Petra said.

AMMAN — A vocational and technical training awareness campaign titled “Your Profession is in Your Hands” was launched on Wednesday by Minister of Labour Nidal Bataineh on behalf of Prime Minister Omar Razzaz.

The campaign aims to guide young people towards vocational and technical work by demonstrating its importance in the Jordanian economy, as well as emphasising the labour market’s needs for professionals who are competent and skilled, according to Bataineh.

“We must pave the path for Jordanian youth to start their own businesses and turn away from traditional professions,” the minister said.

The launch ceremony was attended by British Ambassador to Jordan Edward Okden, Head of the Civil Service Bureau Sameh Nasser, a number of Jordanian private and public university presidents and representatives from the public and private sectors.

Supported by the British government, the campaign will last for six weeks, targetting young people between the ages of 16 and 28 and their families through messages “prepared to change the stereotype of vocational and technical training, using a number of media outlets”, according to introductory remarks at the launch.

The ministry focuses on various fields of training according to the needs of the labour market, including the sectors of energy, logistics services, tourism, hotel and hospitality, industry, maintenance and the information technology.

Bataineh said that during His Majesty King Abdullah’s recent visit to the Vocational Training Centre in Marka, His Majesty highlighted the need to introduce modern programmes for the institution, suggesting the introduction of three-dimensional printing.

General Manager of the Vocational Training Corporation Ziyad Obaidat said at the ceremony that the awareness campaign targets all regions of the Kingdom.

He added that the campaign was launched after a study examining the vocational training centres in the governorates of the Kingdom found that the lowest turnout was in the south, “revealing the need for awareness-raising media campaigns covering youth and their families”.

Enas Jabour, a student with a hearing impairment who is a student trainee at the Ruseifa Vocational Training and Employment Centre, said she “valued the efforts of His Majesty to integrate persons with disabilities, and his constant emphasis on giving them the opportunity to train and work in the labour market”, according to a video presented at the launch.

From Tafileh, Walaa Al Shehadeh, a communications engineering graduate, shared her success story, that started when she joined vocational training programmes for cellular maintenance at the Tafileh Institute Zain Centre, saying she “prides herself on taking this step, as girls are often excluded from this sector”. 

Fawzia Tomani, who enrolled in sewing programmes, said she became the first sewing trainer in her area of Al Jafr, where she went on to train 300 girls.

Two chefs, 19-year-old Dana Jarad and 16-year-old Amal Nader, told The Jordan Times they “did not feel the need to enroll in a university” as they have always known that their passion was cooking and they thought that “vocational training was the better and more logical choice”.

AMMAN — The Water Ministry is committed to delivering drinking water compatible with Jordanian standards and if any contamination is detected, the affected water source will be temporarily blocked until purification has been completed, ministry spokesperson Omar Salameh said on Wednesday.

In light of the current scarcity of water resources, Salameh said in a statement shared with The Jordan Times that the ministry “does not have the option of switching sources in case of contamination”, which forces it to suspend pumping from the source in question to protect the health and safety of those receiving their water from the source.

All water sources in the Kingdom provide around 1,250 million cubic metres (mcm) annually, comprising traditional local surface waters (300mcm), underground aquifers (620mcm) and dams (36mcm), according to Salameh.

There are also non-traditional water sources including water treated in sewage plants, which by the end of 2018 reached around 170mcm, used to a limited extent for agriculture and industry, according to Salameh. 

He added that regional surface water sources, such as the Yarmouk River, water stored in Al Wehdah Dam and Jordan’s share of Lake Tiberias and the King Abdullah Canal, produce around 120mcm annually.

The Water and Irrigation Ministry exercises all its power to provide additional water sources, in spite of the increasing number of users, including refugees and rising number of guests.

The drinking water monitoring system is “firm and accurate”, in accordance with international standards, the spokesperson said, noting that suspending pumping from a water source is not a “simple process” nor is it under the jurisdiction of the ministry alone, but rather requires approvals from the Health Ministry in cooperation with the Royal Scientific Society to ensure water meets the highest standards.

Explaining the causes behind a recently detected contamination in a source that pumps to areas in Amman and Madaba, Salameh said the rainfall in the valley mixed with soil and other contaminants that changed the quality of water, which required suspension of pumping from the treatment stations in order to purify the water before resuming pumping.

Salameh urged the public to exercise patience and cooperation in light of the pressing circumstances, noting that this would be “in everyone’s interests”, while the ministry exerts all its efforts to deal with the situation.

AMMAN — The Higher Population Council (HPC) participated in the launch of the regional report “Gender Justice and Equality Before the Law in the Arab States Region: A Regional Analysis of Progress and Challenges”, on Tuesday, according to the HPC. 

The launch aimed to provide a space for the exchange of experience between different countries to consider the process of developing comprehensive laws on domestic violence and ways to build on the experiences of Arab countries that have passed domestic violence legislation, as well as to exchange information on ongoing efforts. Many countries in the region “have made progress in this regard”, including Jordan, an HPC statement noted.

Secretary General of the HPC Abla Amawi stressed during the workshop the importance of confronting domestic violence in society, referring to the lessons learned during the process of  creating the Family Violence Protection Law 2017 legislation, the “most prominent of which” was international support and mechanisms for propelling the law-making process, according to the statement. 

Amawi said that the most prominent principle underlying the law is a rights-based response, ensuring that perpetrators are held accountable, developing control mechanisms, taking into account the different needs of women's groups who are subjected to violence and giving priority to the victim.

She clarified the practical steps in the enactment and legislation of the law of protection against domestic violence and the contribution of the HPC in this field, confirming that the key challenges in this sphere are economic and gender inequality, a lack of funding for women seeking justice and psychological and social support, as well as the need for ongoing training of security personnel and social service providers in the Family Protection Unit, the statement said.

The regional report is part of the Gender Justice Initiative, created in partnership with the UNFPA Regional Bureau for Arab States, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, the UNDP Regional Bureau for Arab States and the United Nations Regional Office for Women in Arab States. 

This partnership aims to analyse legal systems throughout the Arab countries region in reference to international standards that allow women's protection and equality. The report is based on 18 country reports launched in December 2018, the statement concluded.

AMMAN — Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Majd Shweikeh and Ambassador of France to Jordan Véronique Vouland-Aneini on Wednesday launched a training programme for adventure guides in Jordan at the Ajloun Forest Reserve in cooperation with the National School for Ski and Alpinism of Chamonix-France, the Jordanian Ministry of Tourism and its operator the Jordan Tourism Board. 

More than 50 Jordanian guides, both men and women from around the Kingdom, will be trained in hiking, canyoning and climbing techniques during an 18-month curriculum delivered by mountaineering guides of the internationally recognised School of Chamonix located near Mont Blanc in the French Alps, according to a French embassy statement.

The training will also focus on security issues, protection of the environment and local heritage alongside technical and physical skills and upon completion, participants will earn a recognised certification, allowing locals to meet the needs of Jordanian and international tourists in terms of safety and skills, the statement said.

The tourism sector in Jordan is a major driver of economic growth in the country, and France, which receives millions of visitors every year, is proud to accompany Jordan in its endeavour to develop and professionalise the booming sector of adventure tourism, according to the statement. 

In line with the national youth employability strategy, France aims at consolidating its action in the tourism sector through this project, thus contributing to a “renewed dynamism” which will ultimately lead to the creation of more jobs in Jordan.

During the launch ceremony, the French Ambassador expressed her pride to see Jordanians from all over the Kingdom enrolled in this first training programme provided by the National School for Ski and Alpinism of Chamonix, “one of the best mountaineering schools worldwide”, the statement read. 

AMMAN — The agriculture sector is one of the Kingdom’s strongest economic sectors, with positive social impact on living conditions and national security, Prime Minister Omar Razzaz said on Wednesday.

During a meeting that convened the Parliamentary Agriculture and Water Committee and the Senate’s Agriculture Committee, Razzaz expressed the government’s support of the Agricultural Credit Corporation, stressing commitment to strengthened support to reaching the phase of agro-industry, the Jordan news Agency, Petra, reported. 

AMMAN — The Cabinet on Wednesday decided to appoint Abeer Zuhair as  General Manager of the Jordan Institution for Standards and Metrology.

Zuhair’s appointment came as a result of her scoring the highest among all applicants, who were interviewed by the ministerial committee designated to appoint leadership posts, the Jordan News Agency, Petra reported.

The Cabinet also decided to appoint Tariq Iraiqat and Omar Jazi as members of the board of directors of the Government Investment Management Company, and Mohammad Khalaileh as member of the Higher Education Council.

AMMAN — The Ministry of Water and Irrigation on Wednesday refuted claims circulated on social media that an employee hindered a $300 million investment. The ministry stressed that the minister and all employees “welcome all investments” and work to provide all facilitations to enable investments to move forward, according to a ministry statement.

The ministry also noted that there is a final verdict against an Amman investor, who has been referred to court to pay a few million in sanitation fees. The statement added that the ministry invited the investor to settle the issue in cooperation with the Investment Department, providing all facilitations and the possibility of exemption from fines and payment in installments, with the approval of the Jordan Investment Commission and the Ministry of Finance.

However, the investor “has yet to respond”, the statement added, calling for accuracy, professionalism and objectivity in transferring information for the sake of public interest. 

AMMAN — A Jordanian delegation headed by Planning Minister Wissam Rabadi took part in the third “high-profile” Doing Business Technical Deep Dive, which kicked off in Dubai on Tuesday, according to a ministry statement.

The Jordanian delegation aimed to maintain the Kingdom’s improvement achieved in the World Bank’s recent 2020 Doing Business index, in which it jumped from 104th to 75th place in 2019.

Rabadi, as keynote speaker at the event, which witnessed the participation of 350 economic experts from 45 countries, presented the Kingdom’s reform efforts that led to the its advancement in the rankings.  The meetings, which concluded on Wednesday, were organised by the World Bank Group with the support of the UAE’s Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.