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AMMAN — The Amman Chamber of Commerce (ACC) on Saturday signed a memorandum of understanding  with  Techno Park Istanbul complex to enhance cooperation and partnership in transferring modern technology and reaching new markets.

According to the ACC, the memorandum, signed by ACC Chairman Khalil Haj Tawfiq and Techno Park Istanbul Director Bilal Topjo, aims to enhance collaboration to find and develop inventions and institutional entrepreneurial structures, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

It also aims to exchange visits of scientists and technicians to benefit from scientific and local expertise and to hold specialised conferences and workshops. The two sides agreed on future scientific projects, the details of which are to be determined later. 

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah, in the presence of Her Majesty Queen Rania and HRH Crown Prince Hussein, received the 2019 Scholar-Statesman Award on Thursday evening.

The award, presented to King Abdullah by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP), has been awarded to His Majesty in appreciation for his wise policies and efforts towards peace, stability, harmony, and tolerance in the Middle East, according to a Royal Court statement. 

The award was presented to His Majesty by WINEP Chairman of the Board of Trustees James Schreiber, during a dinner held to mark the occasion.

The award celebrates distinguished leaders who, through their public service and achievements, underscore the importance of research and deep knowledge of history in effective and wise policies to promote peace and security in the Middle East, the statement said.

In his remarks at the ceremony, WINEP Executive Director Robert Satloff noted that when His Majesty talks, people listen, be they leaders around world or the millions of his people who count on him to provide wisdom and guidance, vision and balance, leadership and security, according to the statement.

For his part, WINEP Chairman of the Board of Trustees James Schreiber addressed the King saying, “You have led your country with strength, compassion, moderation and wisdom.”

He added, “you have been a committed warrior for peace, and a determined leader in the battle to confront extremism. In your faith, and in all faiths, you have been a true partner of our country, the United States”, the statement said.

During the ceremony, a tribute video was screened, highlighting His Majesty’s achievements and efforts to pursue peace in the region and to promote dialogue and interfaith harmony, as well as his role as the Hashemite Custodian of Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, according to the statement.

The King returned to Jordan on Friday after a working visit to Canada and the US.

In Canada, King Abdullah held talks with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, covering bilateral ties and regional developments. 

While in New York, where he received the 2019 Scholar-Statesman Award, the King met with United Nations Secretary General António Guterres to review regional developments and efforts to pursue peace and stability in the region. 

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah, during a meeting with United Nations Secretary General António Guterres in New York on Thursday, reaffirmed Jordan’s firm position in rejecting Israeli settlements in the Palestinian Territories, as they violate international law and UN resolutions.

During the meeting, held at the UN headquarters and attended by HRH Crown Prince Hussein, King Abdullah reiterated that any unilateral measures in the Palestinian Territories would undermine the two-state solution and prospects for a comprehensive peace in the region, according to a Royal Court statement.

His Majesty reaffirmed the need to step up international efforts to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on the basis of the two-state solution, leading to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the June 4, 1967 lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

The King also welcomed the UN General Assembly’s decision to extend UNRWA’s mandate.

The meeting covered crises in the region and efforts to find political solutions that restore security and stability for its peoples, with His Majesty underscoring the UN’s important role in this regard.

The King stressed the need to maintain the international community’s support for Syrian refugees and host countries to enable them to continue providing relief and humanitarian services.

For his part, UN Secretary General Guterres stressed the United Nations’ commitment to the two-state solution, noting that the UN respects the Hashemite Custodianship over holy sites in Jerusalem.

He stressed the importance of Jordan’s role, led by His Majesty, in bolstering security and stability in the region, commending the Kingdom for hosting refugees and shouldering burdens caused by the refugee crisis.

Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, Adviser to His Majesty for Communication and Coordination Bisher Al Khasawneh, and Jordan’s Permanent Representative to the UN Sima Bahous attended the meeting.

PETRA — The rose-red city of Petra was lit up with festivities as hundreds of tourists and locals packed the historical site to celebrate the arrival of its millionth visitor of 2019.

The celebration was hosted by the Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority (PDTRA) in cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and the Tourism Authority, a statement said. 

Visitors celebrated Alison Carey, from California in the United States who was the millionth visitor of 2019. This year saw the highest number of visitors to the site. 

Carey is visiting the Kingdom with her husband Andrew for their honeymoon. 

“It’s been a dream of mine since I was a child to come to Petra. When I met my husband he felt the same,” Carey said. 

Her husband agreed, adding that the experience was “a dream come true”.

The millionth visitor received gifts, including a certificate, a golden pass to Petra for life and a seven-day trip to Jordan for two. 

The couple was later dressed in traditional clothes.

Carey said she now knows what it feels like to be famous and thanked Jordanians for their hospitality. 

Chief Commissioner of the PDTRA Suleiman Farajat told The Jordan Times on Thursday that Petra, some 220 kilometres south of Amman, is a significant tourism site for the country.

“Tourism is a very important economic resource in a country where the economy is not really doing that well,” he said. “Tourism is bringing growth opportunities.”

Farajat said the authorities are focused on bolstering the infrastructure and ensuring that Petra continues to grow as a favourite destination for international travellers.

In a press release, Farajat said the authority received 33 investment requests to either expand existing or build new hotels in the area. 

The statement also said “the PDTRA has signed an agreement to rehabilitate the tourist street and establish an alternative street and a link to the arterial street”, in the near future to ease traffic. It has also established a number of projects, some of which in their final stages, to increase the competitiveness of Petra as a global tourist destination.

Visitors came from all across the world to see the ancient UNESCO heritage site. 

Ageth Wechgelaer from Holland told The Jordan Times that she first visited Petra and the Kingdom in 1997. She has visited the Kingdom annually as a tour leader since 2008. 

“I love Jordan as a country and Petra is so spectacular, still, after so many years,” she said. 

For George and Irena Sifilakis who are visiting from Greece, the Kingdom “is a country with a great history, very nice people and great food. It is also part of Hellenic history,” which is why they chose to visit, they told The Jordan Times.

The celebrations also include a concert featuring Jordanian music, food and an artist writing tourists names in nubitian. 

AMMAN — Prime Minister Omar Razzaz on Thursday announced his decision to form a national employment council with his chairmanship and the deputy chairmanship of the Minister of Labour.

Labour Minister Nidal Bataineh said that the ministry, in cooperation and coordination with other stakeholders, will be tasked with organising the labour market and vocational guidance, as well as providing jobs for Jordanians inside and outside the Kingdom, the Jordan News Agency, Petra reported, citing a ministry statement. 

Through launching the national pact for employment, which aims at adopting reform policies and procedures, Bataineh said that the ministry seeks to create jobs for Jordanians, provide youth with the skills and expertise necessary to meet market requirements and apply government incentives for employment. 

He added that these drivers are considered a reference for successive governments to guarantee sustainable public-private partnership in reaching solutions to poverty and unemployment.

The council will also contribute to outlining the general policy for employment in the Kingdom, proposing programmes and plans on the national level to reduce unemployment rates and following up on labour market studies aiming to identify gaps between higher education outcomes and market demand, Bataineh noted. 

The minister stressed that the council is “not a new independent commission”, but rather a “national team” of stakeholders who are experts in labour market needs and will play a role in evaluating specialisations at higher education institutions.  

AMMAN — The Lower House Financial Committee on Thursday said it will reject any provision in the 2020 state budget bill that stipulates hikes in electricity and water prices.

Kaled Bakkar, head of the committee, during a meeting with Finance Minister Mohamad Al-Ississ and Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Wissam Rabadi, unveiled the major points of the Lower House's demands for the 2020 State Budget and the budgets of independent public entities.

Bakkar said that this is the second meeting with the government ahead of sending the bill to the House, noting that according to the Constitution, the Lower House, after receiving the budget bill, is not allowed to add any financial item or increase the expenditures. 

The committee is discussing with the government the reduction of living expenses and increasing of salaries, as well as cutting taxes, he said, noting that the Lower House had passed the income tax law provided that sales tax is gradually cut, but the government “has not abided” by that condition. 

The committee expressed appreciation for the government's recent economic stimulus packages, noting, however, that these plans “do not meet its aspirations and ambitions”, calling for more stimulative measures and the activation of private-public sector partnerships to achieve the required growth, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Al-Ississ said that the Lower House’s demands and suggestions are “clear”, stressing that the government is seeking to meet the committee’s ambitions and “will do everything possible” to address its proposals.

The 2020 State Budget bill, which will be sent to the Lower House, will consider the outcomes of previous budgets and the difficult conditions experienced over the past years as a result of the cutting off of Egyptian gas and the increase in population within a short time as a result of refugee influxes, along with border closures and the cost of maintaining the Kingdom's security in light of the surrounding wars.

He said that the bill “will not include” any items related to tax hikes, but will address tax and customs evasion, adding that the budget will increase financial allocations for social security networks, as well as improve the provided services.

Jordan has the authority to make its own decisions, he said, stressing that the Kingdom “will not accept” the imposition of any foreign financial decisions. He also reiterated that the reform programme is the country's “strategic choice”.

In terms of foreign assistance, Rabadi said that the Kingdom received $2.6 billion (some JD1.84 billion) in external aid during the first 10 months of 2019, with $707 million offered towards the National Response Plan to the Syria Crisis, and the rest as soft loans.

He added that the Kingdom expects to receive JD770 million before the end of the year, of which JD745 is a grant offered by the US as monetary support. 

AMMAN — The Palestinian National Council (PNC) on Thursday called on the word’s parliaments and unions to confront the US government’s defiance of international law and its disregard for international institutions and their decisions.

In letters sent to international parliaments and unions, PNC Chairman Saleem Zanoun called on them to “declare their clear condemnation of this unprecedented behaviour and take conclusive stances against this inconsiderate policy that attempts to change the rules that the existing international system has been based on for decades”, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

Responding to American Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s announcement legitimising Israeli settlements on Palestinian lands, the PNC said that it was “a danger to international safety and stability” and violates Palestinian rights, adding that the announcement was illegal and in violation of UN Security Council Resolution number 2334, the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, the advisory opinion of the International Justice Court of 2004 and the Charter of Rome of 1998. 

AMMAN — The total foreign aid pledged to Jordan in 2019 by donor countries and financing institutions stood at JD1.84 billion by the end of October.

Around 60 per cent of the agreed-upon foreign assistance is designated to support the General Budget, including capital projects, the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation said in a statement on Thursday. 

Foreign aid is divided into grants and soft loans, and is used to support the General Budget, the Jordan Response Plan to the Syrian Crisis (JRP) or priority development schemes in service sectors, such as health, education, municipalities and water.

The agreed-upon foreign grants totalled some JD502 million, including JD357 million for the JRP, while the total soft loans agreed in 2019 reached JD1.35 billion, including JD1.02 billion from the second development policy loan with the World Bank to support the budget, according to the statement.

The ministry added that the government is expected to sign new loans before the end of the year that are worth around JD600 million, including a US monetary grant that will be disbursed to the Treasury before yearend with a value of JD529 million (some $745 million).  

AMMAN — During a visit to the Ministry of Education on Thursday, Prime Minister Omar Razzaz followed up on the ministry’s strategy to develop and enhance education in the Kingdom.

According to Education Minister Tayseer Nuaimi, the strategy includes building 120 new public schools by 2022, adding 1,500 classrooms and providing maintenance for 800 schools, the Jordan News Agency, Petra reported.  The minister briefed the premier about plans to enrol all children in kindergarten for the 2020-2021 scholastic year.

Razzaz highlighted that beginning compulsory education at the age of five will increase students’ chances of receiving quality education before enrolling in the first grade and will also provide real employment opportunities for women, which will enhance their contribution to society. 

Nuaimi also briefed Razzaz, on the ministry’s strategy to improve the public school environment for 2020-2021, and highlighted that the ministry will focus on school counselling programmes to create a safe school environment and preserve the "notable" reduction in school bullying cases, Petra said.

AMMAN — On the occasion of International Children's Day, which falls on November 20 each year, the Labour Ministry on Thursday announced that it dealt with 403 cases of child labour in the first 10 months of 2019.

The ministry carried out 6,325 inspection visits for child labour prevention across the Kingdom during the January-October period, the ministry said in a statement carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

The visits during the first 10 months led to the documentation of 403 cases of child labour, 245 fines and the issuance of 271 warnings against employers of children under the legal working age, said Mohammad Khatib, the ministry's spokesperson.

In 2018, a total of 7,883 field inspections were conducted, resulting in 737 cases of child labour, 671 fines and the issuance of 625 warnings against employers of children, he added.

Jordan was among the first countries to endorse international agreements to safeguard children against economic exploitation, the statement added. The ministry established a child labour department in 1999, while in 2011 the Kingdom endorsed a national framework to fight child labour.

The Labour Law and other relevant pieces of legislation do not differentiate between guest and national workers in the case of child labour, the statement said, adding that children over 16 who work legally under special provisions are dealt with as workers, regardless of their gender or nationality.