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AMMAN — The Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), on Monday finalised the comprehensive study of the donors’ intervention map at the governorate and municipal levels in support of decentralisation and local development.

During a meeting with the decentralisation donor bodies, chaired by Planning Minister Imad Fakhoury, the ministry announced the formation of a committee that includes governmental institutions and donor bodies with the aim of organising the efforts of donor countries and organisations supporting the decentralisation process.

The committee will also be tasked with following up on capabilities building, training and the implementation of development plans at the governorates, according to a statement by the ministry.

The governmental institutions that will be part of the committee include the Advisory Unit to Support Decentralisation in the Ministry of Planning, the Interior Ministry, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and the Ministry of Political and Parliamentary Affairs.

Fakhoury stressed the government’s keenness on supporting the decentralisation process, saying “the government believes that the decentralisation is an essential requirement for reform and development for a stable and prosperous Jordan”.

He noted that the government will employ all available resources to achieve His Majesty King Abdullah’s reform vision, which aims to expand the role and responsibilities of local administrations in the governorates, as well as to increase citizens’ participation in policymaking, the statement said.

The minister noted that the government has issued regulations outlining the framework and necessary legislative cover for these councils, including the internal by-laws and financial systems regulating them, pointing out that the elected governorate councils have completed the legal requirements to endorse their budgets for 2018.

He said that the ministry had started implementing a series of training programmes for elected governorate and executive councils, with the support of international assistance, the statement read.

Fakhoury commended the efforts of the donors currently implementing a number of projects, including the USAID, the EU, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Association of Netherlands Municipalities, and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.

He noted that, following a meeting held at the end of last year with heads of governorates councils, the ministry has outlined the demands of the councils and is currently working with the Ministerial Committee for Decentralisation to find solutions that will be submitted to the Council of Ministers. 

AMMAN — Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Minister Imad Fakhoury on Monday discussed revising the agreement to simplify the rules of origin for Jordanian exports to the EU and maximise its benefits in favour of Jordanian industrialists by attracting investments and creating job opportunities, a Planning Ministry statement said.

During a meeting with the Chief of the Chancellery of the Prime Minister of Poland Beata Kempa, Fakhoury called on Poland, as an EU member, to cooperate with Jordan in revising the agreement.

Fakhoury and Kempa discussed the economic challenges facing Jordan due to the instable regional situation and burdens of hosting large numbers of Syrian refugees, the statement said.

The minister announced that the government will officially launch the Jordan Response Plan to the crisis for 2018-2020 on Thursday.

He urged the Polish companies and investors to benefit from the agreement by providing technical support to Jordanian industrialists, stressing the importance of sustaining and increasing the international support to the Kingdom.

Fakhoury stressed that Jordan has been a model in dealing with challenges stemming from the refugee crisis, stressing that the government is continuing to implement comprehensive reforms to help achieve prosperity for citizens and enhance Jordan’s resilience.

He highlighted the importance of preserving the stability of macro economy and finance indicators through the government’s development plans, such as the Executive Development Programme 2018-2022, which includes the outcomes of the Plan to Stimulate Economy Growth 2018-2022 based on Jordan Document 2025.

For her part, Kempa voiced her country’s appreciation for Jordan’s efforts in hosting the refugees and praised His Majesty King Abdullah’s role in achieving peace and stability in the region and combating terrorism.

She underscored the “strong” partnership between Jordan and Poland, reiterating her country’s commitment to support the Kingdom in providing services to refugees and sustaining it resilience.  

AMMAN — UNRWA’s budget is "almost exclusively funded by voluntary contributions and regrettably, income that had been anticipated to be received in January 2018 has not been received" leaving the agency with an imminent cash crisis, a statement from the UN agency said on Monday.

UNRWA’s management has prioritised payments to provide cash assistance to the most vulnerable enrolled in the Social Safety Net, payments for the procurement of vital medical supplies for the clinics, the reimbursement of hospitalisation costs for those in need of assistance, settling invoices from vendors who have provided goods in 2017 and protecting staff holding fixed-term contracts, according to the statement.

Given all of the above priorities and the lack of cash, UNRWA has unfortunately had to stop a number of daily paid workers who had thus far been contracted on a daily paid basis to complement the work of the staff who are employed on a full-time basis, read the statement. The agency continues a dialogue with the host government, in particular through dialogue with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and will continue regular assessment of all measures, concluded the statement.

AMMAN — Jordan and China on Monday signed the final air services agreement, which was first initiated in 1992, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The agreement, which was signed by the Chief Commissioner of the Civil Aviation Regulatory Commission (CARC) Captain Haitham Misto and Chinese Ambassador to Jordan Pan Weifang aims to regulate air services between the two countries and to allow air carriers the right to operate 21 flights per week for passengers, air freight and mail instead of 7 weekly flights, according to previous air transport entitlements.

The agreement also gives airlines in Jordan and China the right to exercise air transport through airports of other countries, and to avoid double taxation and fees imposed on the operating income of air transport companies in both countries. 

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday received German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen at Al Husseiniya Palace over bilateral relations and regional challenges, according to a Royal Court statement .

During the meeting, which was attended by HRH Crown Prince Hussein, His Majesty’s talks with von der Leyen focussed on cooperation of military and defence fields. 

His Majesty expressed his appreciation for the support Germany offers to Jordan enabling it to implement development programmes and to cope with the burdens resulting from regional crises, the statement said.

The latest regional developments, particularly the Palestinian issue and Jerusalem, were also tackled at the meeting, during which His Majesty stressed that that Jerusalem issue must be settled within the framework of a comprehensive solution that should lead to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

The King also emphasised that Jerusalem is supposed to be a city that “unites” and does not “divide”, and it is the key to achieving peace and resolving conflicts and political crises in the Middle East.

His Majesty pointed out that the international community should support Palestinians and work with the US administration to reach a just and lasting solution to the Palestinian issue.

The meeting, which continued over a lunch banquet attended by members of the German parliament accompanying the minister, focused on the developments related to the war on terrorism. The two sides stressed the importance of intensifying cooperation and coordination among all regional and international players concerned within a holistic strategy to address the terrorism threat and its impact on the security and stability of the region and the world.

For her part, von der Leyen expressed her country’s appreciation of Jordan’s role, under the leadership of His Majesty, in efforts to address regional issues, thanks to the country’s wise and rational policy. She stressed Germany’s confidence in Jordan and its willingess to provide support and cooperation to the Kingdom in various areas.

The minister stressed that her country is looking forward to playing a more active role in the region, especially as the refugee crisis have shown how close Europe is to the region and Africa and the impact of the refugee influx on the continent.

The meeting was attended by Royal Court Chief Fayez Tarawneh, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff Lt. Gen. Mahmoud Freihat, Director of the Office of His Majesty Jafar Hassan and the delegation accompanying the German defence minister. 

Also on Sunday, Freihat received von der Leyen and the accompanying delegation at the Jordan Royal Air Force command, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

Freihat and von der Leyen discussed ways to enhance bilateral relations and the partnership between the two countries.

During his welcoming speech, Freihat expressed his appreciation to receive military aid from Germany (see separate story).

AMMAN — An educational application developed by the Queen Rania Foundation for Education and Development (QRF) has reached over 100,000 downloads and has been used over a million times two weeks after its official launch.

“We had more modest hopes as we expected to reach 50,000 people in the first month but it actually happened in one week,” recalled Fadia Hamdi, communications officer at the QRF.

According to her, the success of the app comes from the extensive outreach campaign implemented by the foundation. “We partnered with different centres and NGOs such as the Jordan River Foundation, the Makani centres and Zaha centres, among others in order to reach as many people as possible,” she explained, stressing that “we wanted to make it available for every child in Jordan”.

The support of Her Majesty Queen Rania, who attended the launching event on December 4 and joined a group of mothers for an awareness session emphasising the importance of early childhood education as well as parents’ role in shaping their children’s personality and learning skills, also helped boost the app’s visibility.

“We are very grateful for Her Majesty’s support and her endorsement of the app on Twitter and Facebook. This truly helped expand our outreach,” Hamdi noted. 

Designed for Arabic-speaking children between the ages of three and six, “Karim and Jana” features five “fun and educational games”, through which children can develop their mathematical, linguistic and social skills. The mobile application also provides parents with a free learning resource that prepares their children for school in their formative years. 

Commenting on the app, Tosy Abed, a mother of two, said: “This app helps children learn in a special and creative way and is very well adapted to all age groups.”

For Ahmad Almansi, a father of four, “this app helps children’s development and I can see my kids progress very quickly thanks to this it. It focuses on developing kids’ abilities progressively and rewarding their progress”.

According to recent studies, more than a third of children in Jordan between the ages of three and six have never been taught letters, numbers, or words, while over a third of mothers in Jordan do not read to children under the age of five. 

Furthermore, Jordanian children’s enrollment rates in kindergartens and nurseries have been found to be very low compared to other middle-income countries. 

“QRF’s first mobile application comes as part of its support of the National Strategy for Human Resource Development, which outlines national priorities, including early childhood education and development, for implementation by the ministries of education and social development, in collaboration with NGOs and the private sector,” a QRF statement said.

Through “Karim and Jana”, children can learn to count to 20, identify two and three dimensional shapes, understand basic addition and subtraction, and build listening and comprehension skills through stories and songs. The app also features an adventure game, which uses interactive play principles to take children on a journey across Jordan.

“There is a huge gap in the educational opportunities available to our children that have many economic implications. This gap will continue to widen if we do not find suitable solutions, therefore it is very critical that we provide free and accessible education to our children,  and create essential opportunities for learning and interacting at home through technology. Our goal is to provide parents with free and easy ways to stimulate learning for their children, to help them acquire the skills they need during their first years at school,” QRF’s CEO Haifa Dia Al Attia said.

Established by Her Majesty in 2013, QRF aims to be a leading regional resource and incubator for new and innovative ideas and initiatives in education. The foundation’s work is focused on identifying gaps and opportunities for developing new education programmes, as well as influencing policy and creating transformational change on the ground, according to its website.

“Karim and Jana” is available for free download for Android from Google Play and for iOS from the App Store.

AMMAN — The prevalence of undernourishment (PoU) in Jordan rose sharply following the start of the Syrian crisis, a recent report by the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) said.

Titled “Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition in the Near East and North Africa (NENA)”, the report looked into the impact of conflict and protracted crises on the level of food security in NENA countries.

Due to its status as a spillover country, Jordan (likewise Lebanon) has suffered an “extraordinary challenge” of hosting millions of Syrian refugees, witnessing an additional pressure on already strained resources, the report showed. According to the FAO, this accounted for the notable increase in the PoU and the prevalence of severe food insecurity.

“Conflicts are hamstringing efforts to eradicate hunger in the region by 2030 and causing spikes in food insecurity in the region,” the report stated, shedding light on how the intensification of regional violence has been opening a wide “hunger gap” between countries being affected by conflicts and those that are not. 

Although the PoU in Jordan has decreased by half over the past 15 years, going from 8.1 per cent in 1999-2001 to 4.3 per cent in 2014-2016, it has witnessed a rise since the year 2011. After dropping to its lowest point (3.4 per cent) in 2005-2006, the rate of undernourished people in Jordan has kept rising.

In countries directly impacted by conflict — which include Syria, Yemen, Libya and Iraq — 27.2 per cent of people were “chronically hungry” — or undernourished — during the 2014-16 period, which is six times higher than the share of the population that was undernourished in peaceful countries (4.6 per cent on average), the report showed. 

In Syria and Yemen, violence has provoked stark reductions in the countries’ GDP, severely undermining food security with around 70 to 80 per cent of Syrians and Yemenis needing humanitarian assistance, while 50 per cent require food assistance.

In December 2017, HRH Prince Hassan, president of the Higher Council for Science and Technology (HCST), launched a national initiative to improve food security and nutrition across the Kingdom, aiming to progress towards Zero Hunger by 2030. 

“The turmoil that has unfolded in our region over the last decade has proven that food insecurity can contribute to conflict when coupled with poverty, unemployment and economic hardship… improving access to food and nutrition for every person in the Kingdom is a direct investment in our national security, our prosperity and our health as a nation,” he said in remarks made at the strategy’s launch.

Jordan’s efforts to counter regional crises’ effects on its food security status were commended by FAO Assistant Director General Abdessalam Ould Ahmed, who stressed the pivotal importance of building resilience and sustaining peace in the region to improve peoples’ well-being.

At the launch of the FAO report, he pointed to “the growing need to implement long-term and comprehensive policies and practices to achieve Zero hunger by 2030”, adding that that “when countries in the region are suffering from an escalation of conflicts, the aim to tackle the region’s deepest concerns of malnutrition, water scarcity and climate change becomes more challenging but at the same time more urgent”.

AMMAN — The Higher Education Council on Thursday approved the allocation of JD72 million for the support of public universities during the year 2018, Higher Education Minister Adel Tweisi told The Jordan Times on Sunday. 

Both the University of Jordan and Al Balqa Applied University were assigned grants of JD10 million, while Tafila Technical University and Al Hussein Bint Talal University were granted JD9 million in support funds. 

Al al Bayt University was allocated a total of JD8.6 million, followed by Mutah University (JD8.143 million), Yarmouk University (JD7 million), Hashemite University (JD3 million), the Jordanian University for Science and Technology (JD1.6 million) and the German-Jordanian University (JD1 million).  

“In addition, the universities will enjoy indirect support aimed at the repayment of the loans that the Ministry of Finance provided to the universities in 2014, the financial aid given by the Scientific Research Support Fund and the universities’ outstanding debt,” Tweisi said. 

The distribution of the support funds will start this month and will continue throughout the year with 12 monthly instalments, according to the minister.

“The amount of the support funds was determined considering the 10 per cent of the deficit in the budget of each university, the 25 per cent of the deficit in their tuition fees, the amount of registered students exempted of the fees according to the Military Retirement Law, the university’s position in international rankings, the percentage of students to faculty and the age of the university,” Tweisi explained. 

“The reasons behind the small amount allocated for the German-Jordanian University are their flexibility to accept students outside the unified admissions programme and their high tuition fees, which usually surpass those of private universities,” he clarified.

In addition, the council will collaborate on the implementation of the National Human Resource Development Strategy by allocating a 5 per cent of the funds for the universities, which contribute to the achievement of national economic and social goals.

“These funds will be distributed in October based on a series of performance indicators that we [the Higher Education Council] sent to the universities so they can adjust their activity accordingly,” Tweisi said. 

RAMTHA/AMMAN — Residents of Ramtha on the borders with Syria said they are “sure” of their abilities to restore their northern district’s longtime “commercial and merchandise” attraction in short time once border crossings with Syria open.

In 2015, Jordan closed the Jaber border crossing with Syria for security reasons, while Ramtha, the other border crossing with the war-torn country, has been closed for more than five years.

The Free Syrian Army (FSA) seized control of the Jaber crossing in 2015.

“I have been doing a business that I am not good at since the closure of the border crossings with Syria,” said Mohammad Smeirat.

Smeirat, now selling fruits and vegetables, said he used to have a big clothes shop in Ramtha’s central market before the Syrian war.

“I used to go to Syria, sometimes daily, to bring clothes for women and children in good prices and sell them in good prices in my shop … Now all is gone,” Smeirat lamented.

Smeirat, married to a Syrian, told The Jordan Times that drivers, ferrying passengers from Jordan and Syria, used to bring him Syrian products to sell at his now-closed shop. 

Drivers of passenger vehicles from Jordan and Syria are known in Ramtha and Syria’s Daraa as “Baharah” (sailors) as they carry cargo in their cars between various countries.

“My dealers in Syria are still ‘alive’ with their businesses still also alive … Just let authorities from both countries open the borders and we will immediately resume our trade,” Smeirat said.

“I literally have no stable business and regular income since 2011,” said Abu Ahmad Thiyabat.

Thiyabat, in his late 30s, said he is sometimes a butcher; salesman and even a wedding planner.

“I used to run a big sweets shop with my brothers in Ramtha’s main market … All sweets sold were from Syria. The shop is closed since early 2012,” Thiyabat said.

He said that some of his Syrian dealers are still in Syria selling sweets but some them came to Jordan “to do business”.

“The Syrian merchants in Damascus tell us they are eager to resume trade with us in Ramtha.”

“Yes there is a security concern in Syria’s Daraa and inward into Damascus, but with extra security preparations as with Iraq, trade activities between Jordan and Syria can be resumed,” said Abdulqader Abu Kas.

Noting that trade and doing business is “in the blood of the Ramtha people”, Abu Kas said that the war in Syria and its deep impact on his town’s economic activities has compelled the citizens there to see trade from far away countries like China.

“With no more products coming from Syria, hundreds of people from Ramtha resorted to China to import cheap products. But that is not that feasible especially for small merchants….there is the visa factor, tickets, customs, costly shipping,” he said.

Abu Kas now sells/buys cars after he had to close his business in Ramtha.

“I used to be a ‘prosperous’ salesman of household items all imported from Syria.”

For Ibrahim Al Salman, “most of the Syrian products that used to be sold in Ramtha were from Damascus”.

“Damascus not affected by the war. Life and trade there still on with no disruption,” Salman said, echoing his fellow citizens’ remarks that reopening the border crossings with Syria would “bring life to back Ramtha”.

In remarks to The Jordan Times on Sunday, an official source said that the issue of reopening of the border crossings with Syria is still not decided. 

Asked if there is any progress towards reopening the Jaber border crossing with Syria, the senior official, who preferred anonymity, said, “Nothing new yet.”

In October last year, official sources said that talks over the reopening of the Jaber border crossing with Syria were under way “on a tactical level”.

The sources’ remarks came in response to reports at the time quoting Syrian rebels that Jordan had told the Syrian opposition that it was obliged to deal with a recognised state in order to open the crossing and to allow trucks to proceed to third countries.

Rebel leaders were quoted at the time as demanding that the Jaber crossing with Jordan be kept under the FSA’s control with the deployment of an EU monitoring team, as is the case in Syria’s northern border crossings with Turkey.

The FSA also demanded that the so-called “Syrian opposition flag” be raised at the Jaber border crossing.

AMMAN — Prime Minister Hani Mulki on Sunday stressed the importance of reconsidering subsidies of electricity, as it is one of the obstacles that hinder investments and productive sectors.       

The premier’s remarks came during a meeting with Senate Finance Committee, headed by Senate President Faisal Fayez, in which the PM stressed that supporting electricity will be part of the social security network in the budget of 2019, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

During the meeting, Fayez said that the economic reforms carried out by the government should take into consideration widening the middle class and not affecting the low-income people, in line with His Majesty King Abdullah’s directives.

Fayez said that the Upper House “understands” the difficult economic challenges the Kingdom is facing as a result of regional turmoil.

He called for finding the “best” means to address tax evasion, enhance the social security network, distribute the national development gains to all governorates, establishing job-generating investment projects and finding new markets for the Jordanian exports.

He also called for benefitting from the post-Daesh era, especially preparing to take part in the reconstruction of Syria and Iraq.

Fayez stressed the importance of removing all obstacles that would face investors, combating administrative and bureaucratic inertia.

For his part, Mulki said that the public budget law and the law of government units came in line with the structure and financial reform programme and the plan to stimulate economic growth.

The PM stressed that the government has allocated JD171 from the budget for the social security network to protect the middle- and low-income families from the price hike of some commodities.

The government has also allocated JD10 million to support the military and civil consumer corporations to help them stabilise prices, JD10 million to include more families in the National Aid Fund and JD5 million for food rations at schools in underprivileged regions, which raises the social security network’s allocations to JD195 million.