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AMMAN — Prime Minister Omar Razzaz on Thursday received Qatar’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Khalid Bin Mohammad Al Attiyah and an accompanying delegation at his office.

Their meeting tackled issues of furthering Jordanian-Qatari relations and enhancing cooperation in service of the two peoples’ interests.

In a statement carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra, Razzaz reiterated the depth of relations between the two countries and the high level of cooperation between them.

He stressed on the importance of furthering what has already been achieved, noting more can be attained to maximise mutual benefit.

“Jordan is ready to broaden the horizons of cooperation by benefitting from mutual opportunities and the exchange of expertise, especially in fields of education, employment, security and services,” Razzaz stated.

For his part, Attiyah stated that his visit had a “positive outcome” and commended the historic ties between Qatar and Jordan.

“Qatar is keen on diversifying cooperation in the future to include new fields, which will benefit our two countries,” he added, praising Jordan’s military, security and defence expertise.

Earlier on Wednesday, His Majesty King Abdullah received Attiyah at Al Husseiniya Palace to review bilateral ties and means of developing them in various fields.

Their meeting covered opportunities for cooperation between the two countries through activating joint committees and establishing joint projects, Petra reported.

His Majesty expressed Jordan’s appreciation for Qatar’s support through providing job opportunities for Jordanians and its investments in the Kingdom.

AMMAN — Jordanians in the Northern Jordan Valley, Aqaba and Zarqa on Thursday rallied across different parts of the Kingdom to express support for the Hashemite Custodianship of Jerusalem and His Majesty King Abdullah’s position on the Palestinian cause.

In Aqaba, citizens rallied to reaffirm their support for the King’s historic role in Jerusalem and the preservation of the Holy City’s Islamic and Christian sites and identity.

They also commemorated the fallen Jordanian soldiers who gave their lives in defence of the occupied city and the sacrifices Palestinians laid for Palestine and Jerusalem.

In Zarqa’s Al Hashimiya district, citizens took to the streets, chanting slogans and holding up banners expressing their rejection of the Israeli occupation’s measures in Jerusalem.

Citizens also expressed their refusal of the so-called “deal of the century” and the “alternative homeland”, calling for the implementation of international legitimacy resolutions.

In the Northern Jordan Valley, citizens organised a number of activities reaffirming their support for His Majesty’s stance and their readiness to make whatever sacrifice necessary for the sake of Jerusalem.

In Amman, the General Federation of Jordanian Trade Unions also made a statement on Thursday, expressing their support of the Hasehmite Custodianship of Jerusalem.

The federation condemned the occupation’s transgressions against the identity of occupied Jerusalem and attempts to Judaise its Islamic and Christian heritage, the statement said.

The president of the federation, Mazen Maaytah, said that the unions are keeping note of the ongoing developments, especially with regards to the incursions against Islamic and Christian holy sites in Palestine.

AMMAN — The Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply launched some 19 new electronic services on Thursday, as part of their plans to digitise and facilitate services.

During a ceremony on Thuesday, Prime Minister Omar Razzaz inaugurated 14 new services offered by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

“What the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply has done in developing its electronic services is a great accomplishment that will serve in enhancing the economy,” Razzaz stated.

“The government is working within a timeframe, and what has been accomplished here today will improve business and investment environments, especially since 80 per cent of the Trade Ministry’s services are now electronic,” he added. 

The prime minister revealed that the ministry has achieved 80.75 per cent of its service digitisation plan, adding that he expected this figure to increase to 98.75 per cent by the end of the year.

The Trade Ministry’s new services will allow investors to register for, amend or cancel services without the need to visit the directorate of central trade record. The only condition that remains is for the original, certified copy of the registration certificate to be picked up at the directorate or delivered via the Jordan Post.  

Among the Trade Ministry’s new services are those that will allow investors to register, modify or cancel trademarks, as well as register, modify or cancel trade records, and issue licences for trademark usage. 

Meanwhile, the Interior Ministry has also launched, in addition to five new digital services, a mobile application that grants citizens access to all of its e-services.

The new Interior Ministry services pertain mostly to issues of residency and its applications and were launched in cooperation with the Ministry of ICT. 

The head of the Interior Ministry’s Information Technology Department Yasine Hasban said that the number of electronic applications filled out through the ministry’s services has reached 46,000 since July of last year. He added that 70,000 people have benefitted from the e-services, and there were about 22,000 accounts registered on the ministry’s database.

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Wednesday attended the 2019 King Abdullah II World Interfaith Harmony Week Prize ceremony at Al Husseiniya Palace.

At the ceremony, attended by HRH Prince Ghazi, His Majesty’s chief adviser for religious and cultural affairs and personal envoy, King Abdullah presented awards to the winners, a Royal Court statement said.

The first prize went to the Cape Town Interfaith Initiative for the activity “Love of Neighbour — our Prayers for our City”. 

Co-hosted with Faith, Hope, Love Communities in Elsie’s River,  the activity aim at taking prayers from places of worship to people in troubled areas, according to the statement.

The second prize was awarded to Interreligious Committee of Rome for its “Interreligious Manifesto of the Rights in End of Life Path”, which was signed by religious leaders from different faiths to ensure religious and spiritual support for sick people at hospitals, hospices or at home.

The third prize was jointly awarded to URI Cooperation Circle Brasilia for the Public Audience in the Legislative Chamber of the Federal District of Brazil and the SUNFO Global Federation for its Campaign for Interfaith Harmony in Sri Lanka, the statement added.

The World Interfaith Harmony Week builds on the 2007 “A Common Word” initiative, which declared the common ground between Islam and Christianity based on the two great Commandments of “Love of God, and Love of the Neighbour”, which lie at the heart of the three monotheistic faiths.

Royal Hashemite Court Chief Yousef Issawi, Adviser to His Majesty and Director of the Office of His Majesty Manar Dabbas, and a number of Muslim and Christian religious leaders attended the prize ceremony.

AMMAN — To mark Palm Sunday, April 21 will be a holiday for Christians across the Kingdom working for public institutions and departments, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Wednesday.

The Easter holidays will be on April 28 and 29, announced Prime Minister Omar Razzaz on Wednesday.

AMMAN — President of the Jordan Chamber of Commerce Nael Kabariti and officials from the United Kingdom’s embassy in Jordan on Wednesday discussed matters of bilateral cooperation on economic issues of mutual significance.

The meeting was held with the British embassy’s economic adviser, Wayne Willems, and the head of regional affairs, Catherine Rashed, according to a statement carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

Kabariti said that the private sector seeks to enhance communication with their UK counterparts in order to cultivate trade and investment relations. He added that Jordan has great opportunities to attract British investment, pointing to the peace and security in the Kingdom. 

AMMAN — Palestinian Vice President Mohammed  Shtayyeh on Wednesday expressed his appreciation for His Majesty King Abdullah’s stance in defence of Jersualem, its holy sites, refugees and the two-state solution, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Meanwhile, Head of the Jordanian Representation Office to Palestine Muhammad Abu Windi discussed with Shtayyeh ways of enhancing bilateral cooperation in various fields, including trade between Palestine and Jordan.  

AMMAN — Cases against 560 gharimat (indebted women) were dropped on Wednesday, as part of those targeted in His Majesty King Abdullah’s initiative, Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Abdul Nasser Abul Bassal said.

The women’s loans ranged between JD1,036 and JD1,100 and met the conditions and standards set by the coordination committee formed to implement the initiative, Abul Bassal noted as reported by the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

King Abdullah, in a call-in with Jordan Television’s “Yise’d Sabahak” programme on March 22, saluted Jordanian mothers on Mother’s Day, and called for a national effort to support indebted Jordanian women unable to pay back loans they had taken to support their families.

On March 30, the Zakat Fund announced that His Majesty would cover the debts of 1,500 gharimat.

The Zakat Fund, which is in charge of supervising the execution of the initiative, had already raised JD3 million before the King’s donation.

Women whose debts exceed JD1,000 will also receive help if additional funds are received, the minister said, noting that the fund was still receiving donations for the cause.

The total number of gharimat who have benefited from the initiative so far stands at 5,974, and the total sum paid on their behalf under the Royal Initiative has reached JD3,160,890.

AMMAN — A cleaning initiative in Irbid was held on Wednesday to “stand shoulder to shoulder” with beneficiaries of Action Against Hunger’s cash assistance programme.

“The notion of direct cash assistance is slowly disappearing. Nowadays, most NGOs provide assistance in exchange for a simple service, in this case waste collection,” said Sajeda Saqallah, the food security and livelihood programme manager in Irbid.

Saqalla told The Jordan Times that since the programme, called “Cash for Work”, targets vulnerable Jordanians and Syrians, most of the beneficiaries are women, schoolchildren and young men.

She added: “They [beneficiaries] are reporting incidents of ridicule and harassment while on the job. This is why we decided to invite prominent figures and local organisations in Irbid to stand shoulder to shoulder with the workers.”

The campaign also aims to encourage individuals and communities to create “acceptable and sustainable options to promote waste collection and waste sorting”, according to a statement sent to The Jordan Times.

Although the Cash for Work programme lasts for 40 days, Saqalla said that beneficiaries acquire a skill that will come in handy after the programme concludes, which is that of waste sorting.

“During the programme, the workers learn about the different types of plastic, bronze and iron. Later on, after differentiating between what is recyclable and what can be too expensive [to recycle], they go on to sell the material that still has value, which can generate income,” she added.

The programme, which started in October 2018, has two categories for workers, according to Irbid Field Coordinator Sarah Varrier.

“The ‘skilled’ worker is somewhat of a team leader, they need to support others and be cooperative with everyone. They also have to do some awareness raising. As for ‘unskilled’ workers, the job itself is enough,” she told The Jordan Times over the phone.

A “skilled” worker is paid JD15 per day, with one day of paid leave, while “unskilled” workers are paid JD12. Workers in both categories are enrolled in the social security programme.

“We have 176 beneficiaries so far and, on average, by the end of the programme a ‘skilled’ worker would have made JD550 while the ‘unskilled worker would have made JD430,” Varrier said.

The campaign falls under the German Agency for International Cooperation’s “Waste to Energy in Jordan”, and focuses on “strengthening solid waste management” in Irbid Governorate, according to the statement.

The campaign is part of a series of six volunteer campaigns taking place in Bani Obaid and Koura throughout March, April and June.

AMMAN — The aim of political development is to improve the political apparatus’ ability to adapt to internal and external changes, Minister of Political and Parliamentary Affairs Musa Maaytah said on Wednesday.

During a lecture on police administration at the Royal Police Academy, Maaytah reaffirmed the need for a “genuine” civil society, a middle class with a civil culture and strong political parties.

“It is important that these parties believe in reform as the path to building an effective democracy to include citizens in the decision-making process,” he said.

He added that it is crucial to come to consensus on the future concept of the state.

The attainment of these goals, Maaytah explained, requires ideological currents, parties and an active pluralist political system that goes hand in hand with transparent, regular and transparent elections.

Such institutions enable the participation of women and youth effectively, Maaytah said, adding that all of this is based on the concept of the separation of authorities and the strength of an independent, fair judicial system.

“Political reforms start from within society.”

He also explained that the society and state institutions should operate on the conviction that reform is an internal requirement and a necessity for development and stability.

“Operating on this conviction is the only effective way to arrive at an active democracy.”

His Majesty King Abdullah’s Discussion Papers laid the roadmap for political reforms in Jordan, the minister said, adding these documents define the roles of the state’s components in the reform process, as well as the basic concepts for the development of a citizenship-based democracy that includes everyone.