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AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Wednesday received a telephone call from His Majesty King Felipe VI of Spain, a Royal Court statement said.

Over the phone, King Abdullah and the Spanish monarch discussed the friendly relations between the two countries and the means of developing them in all fields. They also discussed the current regional state of affairs and developments, according to the statement.

AMMAN — Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Lt. Gen. Mahmoud Freihat on Wednesday received Chief of the Bahrain Defence Force Lt. Gen. Theyab Al Noaimi and an accompanying delegation, highlighting the depth of Jordanian-Bahraini fraternal relations.

During the 16th meeting for the joint Jordanian-Bahraini higher committee for military cooperation, the two sides discussed enhancing military cooperation and coordination between the two countries to serve their interests.

Talks also went over the latest regional and international developments, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. A number of senior armed forces officers attended the meeting.

AMMAN — Mohannad Hijazi was sworn in on Wednesday before His Majesty King Abdullah as the chairman of the Integrity and Anti-Corruption Commission, according to a Royal Court statement.

Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and Royal Hashemite Court Chief Yousef Issawi attended the swearing-in ceremony which was held at Al Husseiniya Palace.

AMMAN — Prime Minister Omar Razzaz on Tuesday stressed the "ideal" ties of partnership and friendship between Jordan and France, highlighting the continuous communication and coordination between the two countries over various regional and international issues.

During a meeting with a delegation from the French Senate, headed by Olivier Cigolotti, secretary of the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Armed Forces Committee, the premier commended the French position on the peace process and its support of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Razzaz noted that France is the top foreign investor in the country, voicing the Kingdom's appreciation for Paris' support on various political and economic levels.

The prime minister reiterated the Kingdom's fixed stance towards the Palestinian cause, which calls for a solution that fulfils the aspirations of the Palestinian people to establish an independent Palestinian state on the June 4, 1967, lines with East Jerusalem as its capital under a two-state formula, in accordance with the Arab Peace Initiative, international law and relevant UN resolutions.

Talks also went over the challenges posed on the Kingdom due to the unstable surrounding conditions, according to Petra.

Daesh has almost been militarily defeated, but more important, is combating the ideology of the group, Razazz said, noting that terrorist groups utilise unsettled crises.

He also voiced hope for the continuation of international support for the Syrian refugees until conditions favourable for their return are fulfilled.

For their part, the head and members of the French delegation said that their visit to the Kingdom is aimed at getting acquainted with the Kingdom's views on the means of bolstering bilateral ties between the two countries, as well as on regional issues, the peace push and counterterrorism efforts, Petra added.

They also expressed their country’s keenness on working with Jordan to maintain the Kingdom’s stability and supporting it in overcoming the pressures it is facing.

The senators said that they will shed light on the Kingdom’s “important position” and decisive role in fostering regional security and stability in an upcoming report that they will prepare over the coming two months, according to Petra.

His Majesty King Abdullah paid a visit to Paris last week and held talks with French President Emmanuel Macron, stressing that the two-state solution for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is the only viable solution. 

Also on Tuesday, Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi met with the French senators and stressed the “deep-rooted” Jordanian-French relations and the recent momentum they have gained, especially after King Abdullah’s meeting with Macron in Paris last week, Petra reported.

Safadi and the delegates also highlighted the “solid partnership” between the two countries, which positively reflected on the economic, investment and defence cooperation and further boosted coordination on regional crises, in a way that contributes to realising the two countries’ joint goals of enhancing security and stability.  

As for the Palestinian issue, he warned against the absence of prospects for Palestinians to attain their legitimate rights and ending the occupation, and against the threats of unilateral Israeli measures that target the Islamic and Christian identity of Jerusalem and its holy sites. 

The minister also highlighted the importance of intensifying international efforts that aim at reaching political solutions to regional crises, especially the Syrian crisis, which has caused destruction and bloodshed that must be ended through a political solution that guarantees the unity of the country. 

Safadi acquainted the delegates with the Kingdom’s efforts in facing economic challenges.

For their part, the French senators, who are visiting Jordan to prepare a report to their senate on regional conditions, praised the Kingdom’s role in realising security and stability and the model it presents in adopting “moderate and just” policies.

AMMAN — Jordan's economy is expected to grow by 2.2 per cent in 2019 and rise slightly to 2.4 per cent in 2020, according to a World Bank report released Tuesday.

The report, entitled "Reforms and External Imbalances: The Labour-Productivity Connection in the Middle East and North Africa", indicated that the Kingdom's economy is expected to grow by 2.6 per cent 2021.

The forecast indicates a slight drop from previous projections by the World Bank, as a previous report earlier this year expected the Kingdom’s growth for 2019 to reach 2.3 per cent, 2.4 per cent in 2020 and 2.7 in 2021.

The World Bank report indicated that in addition to comparatively low economic growth, many MENA economies have persistent trade and current account deficits. 

“Many oil-importing countries — such as Lebanon, Djibouti, Morocco, Jordan, Tunisia and Egypt — have been running large and persistent trade and current account deficits for more than a decade,” the report said.

In cases where current account and fiscal balances do not move together closely, as is the case in Jordan, policymakers might have to rely more on boosting aggregate labour productivity to gradually reduce current account deficits, the report indicated.

“Jordan and Lebanon could consider reducing their payroll taxes,” the report said, noting that currently, the payroll tax rates in Jordan are imposed at “progressive rates” ranging from 7 per cent to 20 per cent.

Economic growth in the MENA region is set to drop slightly to 1.5 per cent in 2019 from 1.6 per cent in 2018, according to the report. 

Despite the fall in growth this year, regional growth is expected to see a modest uptick to 3.4 per cent in 2020 and 2.7 per cent in 2021. 

The World Bank’s report indicated that the expected growth in the region is led by developing oil importers, such as Egypt, which accounts for roughly 8 per cent of the MENA’s GDP, with a forecast at 5.5 per cent in 2019, and higher in 2020-2021.

Meanwhile, growth in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) economies is expected to reach 2.1 per cent in 2019. 

“The revival of growth in Egypt and the GCC is partly and indirectly the result of domestic reform policies. Meanwhile, the expected growth slowdown of MENA’s largest export markets, namely, the EU, the US and China, will have a negative effect on the region,” the report said.

AMMAN — “Those facing the problem are the most equipped to suggest ways of solving it,” said Aya Bseiso, who works at the International Rescue Committee (IRC).

Recently, the IRC provided Syrian refugees and underprivileged Jordanians from different backgrounds, ages and levels of education with the opportunity to identify and solve the most demanding challenges facing them in their communities.

After focus groups and multiple meetings, the “Lab Mahali” workshops concluded that all the problems presented could be grouped into three main categories: income, access to healthcare and primary education.

Six teams were then chosen and given JD25,000 to deploy the solutions they had suggested over a period of six months.

The Basma team, who tackled the issue of bullying at two-shift schools with Jordanian and Syrian children and teenagers, came up with a project they called “interactive graffiti”.

“We noticed that most fights and clashes happened when one period [shift] was going home as the other was arriving. We needed to do something that would distract them at that moment. Even better, we needed to make them interact and cooperate,” said Najah Omar, a representative from the multinational Basma team.

Omar noted that after speaking with the children, the root of the problem appeared to be a separation based on nationality. “It created the ‘us and them’ psychological state of mind,” she recently told The Jordan Times.

After research, the team said they arrived at the idea of interactive graffiti. They drew a version of the “find the treasure” board game on the school’s outer wall and wrote instructions on a Facebook page that the students were told the visit.

Omar said the clashes “not only decreased, but almost disappeared”. She added: “At one point, we heard three members of the morning period [shift] asking two members of the evening period to join them, as the game needed a team of five.”

The work of Basma and the five other teams were presented at a ceremony on Monday that brought together civil society organisations, investors and other stakeholders to determine if they could apply the projects on a larger scale.

“Many NGOs have already contacted the teams to expand the projects under their organisation,” said Bseiso.

One of those teams was Martha, which adopted the idea of helping children with hearing challenges.

“More than 79 per cent of the 55,000 hearing-impaired kids in Jordan cannot read or write. That is an unfairly high rate,” said Rasha Abu Shakhdan, one of the team’s members.

According to Martha’s field study, 10 schools in the Kingdom provide a curriculum designed for those children, and private classes cost more than JD7 per class on average.

Through an app and flashcards designed by the team, a series of educational videos teach the children both the written alphabet and its sign language equivalents.

“These children should not be deprived of contributing to society because they were born with a challenge,” Abu Shakhdan said.

AMMAN — The World Economic Forum and the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB) on Monday selected the 100 most promising Arab start-ups of 2019, according to a statement sent to The Jordan Times.

The initiative aimed to integrate Arab entrepreneurs into a national and regional dialogue on pressing challenges, and those selected will participate in the World Economic Forum on the Middle East and north Africa at the Dead Sea on Sunday and Monday.

The forum, which will be held under the patronage of Their Majesties King Abdullah and Queen Rania, will bring together industry and government leaders to discuss the future of industries and how to add value to societies, the statement said.

“The Arab world will need its private sector to address youth unemployment, the current skills gap for the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the inclusion of women in the workforce. Start-ups, and the entrepreneurs building them, are key to a strategic public-private dialogue on these issues,” said Mirek Dusek, deputy head of the Centre for Geopolitical and Regional Affairs, and member of the World Economic Forum’s Executive Committee.

The start-ups were selected out of 400 applicants representing 17 countries and included Wahed; the world’s first halal investment platform (the UAE), MonoJo; a biotech company that uses camel milk to develop antibodies (Jordan) and FalconViz; a company conducting a range of mapping including that of cultural heritage sites with autonomous drones.

“Across the Middle East, entrepreneurs are devising increasingly innovative ways to tackle the evolving societal challenges of the Fourth Industrial Revolution with novel applications of technology. These efforts need to be encouraged, recognised and supported by investors, business leaders and policymakers,” said Khalid Rumaihi, chief executive of the EDB.

The Dead Sea meeting will gather over 1,000 leaders from government, business and civil society, as well as leaders from Gulf Cooperation Council countries, the Levant and north Africa, as well as key international stakeholders from east Africa, Europe and the US, according to the statement.

AMMAN — The State Security Court (SSC) is expected to resume the trials of dozens of defendants in the so-called “tobacco case” today, following a decision by a higher court that the case was within the SSC’s jurisdiction.

The SSC received a decision from the Court of Cassation that the charges the defendants face fall within its jurisdiction, and the military prosecutor has summoned witnesses to testify, a senior judicial source said.

The SCC had to postpone the trial in recent weeks after one of the lawyers contested the court’s jurisdiction over the case and demanded that his clients be tried in civil courts.

The 29 defendants and 25 companies have been charged with acts that endanger society’s safety, security and economic resources, as well as acts that change the state’s economic structure or endanger society’s basic conditions.

Other charges included accepting or providing bribes to carry out illegal acts, abusing power and money laundering, as well as tax evasion, among others.

All of the defendants previously pleaded not guilty to the charges during their opening trial last week.
Six other defendants, who are still at large, have also been charged with the same offences.

The SSC indictment sheet in the “tobacco case” includes charges against a minister and former director of the Jordan Customs Department (JCD) Wadah Hmoud, who allegedly cooperated with the main suspect in the case, Awni Mutee, to facilitate the smuggling of tobacco in exchange for bribes.

The tobacco factory case, which involved the illegal manufacturing, faking and smuggling of cigarettes, has remained in the media spotlight for months.

In addition to Hmoud, several other officials and former officials were also allegedly involved in the case, including former minister Musa Oweis, Lt. Gen. Salem Khasawneh and Lt. Gen. Wael Smadi from the JCD, former adviser Wahab Awamleh and free trade zone official Muhieldin Ghitan.

Mutee, the primary suspect in the case, reportedly fled the country to Lebanon last year, one day ahead of a crackdown on an alleged illegal tobacco manufacturing and smuggling factory. Mutee was later extradited from Turkey.

The SSC’s indictment list chronicled years of cooperation in the illegal operation between Mutee and Hmoud, in which the latter allegedly received payments from the former in exchange for facilitating the smuggling process.

The facilitation process reportedly included transferring or referring to retirement any employee who would impede the smuggling of tobacco, as well as diverting inspection activities into Mutee’s business, according to the court document.

AMMAN — The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is currently carrying out several water projects in Irbid and Balqa at a total cost of some $67 million, Water Minister Raed Abul Said said on Tuesday, during a meeting with the JICA and government officials.

The ministry is working at full capacity to address imbalances by boosting supply capabilities, in cooperation with donors and partners, such as the JICA, Abul Saud added.

Projects under way to boost water-supply efficiency in the northern region of the Kingdom are estimated at a total worth of $25 million, the minister noted, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

The head of the JICA office in Jordan attended the meeting, where she expressed her satisfaction and happiness with the level of Jordanian-Japanese cooperation, stressing Japan’s keenness to enable Jordan’s efforts in the face of exceptional circumstances.

The minister expressed his appreciation for the Japanese government and agencies for their support of Jordan’s water and sewage projects, including loans and grants facilitated for that purpose over the last few years.

AMMAN — A four-year-old child died and six people were injured on Tuesday in a car accident which occurred at the Abu Khushaibeh intersection in Aqaba.

According to a statement from the Civil Defence Department, carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra, the injured received first aid and were then transported, along with the body of the deceased, to the Prince Hashem Military Hospital. The injured were listed as in fair and severe condition.