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AMMAN — Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono is scheduled to visit Jordan on Monday and hold talks with Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi on means to expand Jordanian-Japanese ties and the Syrian refugee influx into the Kingdom, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Saturday. 

A Japanese foreign ministry statement said that the visit to Jordan is part of a regional tour that also includes Israel, Palestine, Oman and Turkey between Sunday and Friday.

Kono has visited the Middle East twice since taking office, and expressed the basic policy of Japan’s diplomacy regarding the Middle East as the Kono Four Principles in the First Japan-Arab Political Dialogue and Japan’s action to assist stabilisation and security in the Middle East, based on the principles in the Manama Dialogue, according to the Japanese foreign ministry.

On his third visit, Kono will further implement policies announced previously within the context of support for Middle East peace, promote the initiatives of Japan towards stabilisation of the Middle East region and further strengthen multilayered cooperative relationships with the visited countries and regions.

Japan has announced its rejection of US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and relocate Washington’s embassy to the holy city.

AMMAN — The Energy Ministry on Saturday announced that it will allow more companies to obtain licences to market fuel derivatives in the Kingdom, after the three-year exclusive agreement, which started in May 2103, with three companies operating in Jordan expires.

Energy Minister Saleh Kharabsheh said that the move is part of a programme to restructure the oil sector and open competitiveness, noting that the government had issued licences for Total Jordan, Manaseer Oil & Gas and the Jordan Petroleum Refinery Company’s (JPRC) Jordan Petroleum Products Marketing Company.

Since the agreement has ended, Kharabsheh said, the government can now grant licences to new marketing companies, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. Interested companies can fill up forms available on the ministry’s website.

AMMAN — The Jordan Hashemite Charity Organisation (JHCO) on Saturday announced it will launch a campaign on Hayat FM on Wednesday to support Al Aqsa Mosque and the legitimate rights of the Palestinians and to denounce the Israeli occupation.

JHCO Secretary General Ayman Mifleh called on Jordanians to express their views and opinions and offer donations that will help Jerusalemites who face harsh circumstances, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Mousa Saket, chair of the board of directors at the radio station, said that the campaign, between 7:30am and midnight, is a “response to US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and a confirmation of Jordan’s custodianship of Jerusalem’s Muslim and Christian holy sites. 

AMMAN — An industrial delegation to Tehran has discussed means to enhance economic cooperation, increase commercial exchange and remove obstacles that hinder the Jordanian-Iranian commercial relations, the Jordan Chamber of Industry (JCI) said on Saturday.

The delegates, headed by JCI President Adnan Abul Ragheb, visited Tehran upon an invitation from Iranian officials to participate in the “Food industries exhibition with Islamic countries”, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Abul Ragheb said that the delegates had “positive” discussions, where Iranians expressed their interest in investing in the Kingdom.

He added that his Iranian counterpart called for facilitating the entry of Iranian investors and businesspeople to Jordan and opening “new horizons” for Iranian products in new markets, through benefiting from Jordan’s economic ties with various countries.

AMMAN — Deputising for Prime Minister Hani Mulki, State Minister for Investment Affairs Muhannad Shehadeh on Saturday attended a symposium titled “Policies and means required for the Amman Stock Exchange to thrive”, organised by the Talal Abu Ghazaleh Knowledge Forum. 

Shehadeh highlighted the importance of developing investment incentives, as well as creating an investment friendly environment that investors aspire for, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. Talal Abu Ghazaleh, head of the forum, highlighted the need of focusing on small-scale enterprises, especially due to the fact that they employ more than 80 per cent of the workforce.

Jordan Securities Commission (JSC) President Mohammad Hourani reviewed reasons for the decline in the performance of the ASE, attributing them mainly to the successive financial crises and the repercussions of the so-called “Arab Spring”.

AMMAN — Lower House Speaker Atef Tarawneh on Thursday headed a meeting of the house's finance committee with Prime Minister Hani Mulki, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

During the meeting, Tarawneh noted that the committee has prepared its report on the 2018 general budget and that of the independent institutions after discussing them with all relevant bodies.

He said that the committee's report will be submitted to the Lower House on Tuesday, which, for its part, will set a programme for the budget discussions and MPs notes.

MP Ahmad Safadi, the committee's head, said that during the meeting, the committee discussed with Mulki subsidies for bread and other essential commodities, noting that the committee supports a plan to provide cash support to those "who deserve" as an alternative to subsidies.

The support must include all armed forces, security agencies’ in- service and retired members as well as civil employees, Safadi added.

He noted that the committee is scheduled to conclude its meetings and discussions of the budget by Sunday by meeting with a governorate council.

For his part, the prime minister pointed out the "very critical" period that Jordan is passing through, calling on "all" to support the government's financial and economic reform programmes.

Mulki said that the 16-per cent sales tax law that was endorsed by the Parliament in 1994 has become ineffective as a result of the “not thoughtful” exemptions of commodities and sectors, which reduced the tax revenues in GDP.

For bread, the premier said that one-third of the population unrightfully benefit from the subsidies.

The bread subsidy reaches JD140 million annually and is spent in hard currency taken from the Central Bank of Jordan’s reserves.

He said that the government has allocated JD171 million in the budget to support the low-income citizens and will follow a mechanism to be decided by the House for the distribution.

The prime minister announced that 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.

As for including above-60-year-old people in the free health insurance, the prime minister said that the finance minister was tasked to provide a study on the expected cost.

He pointed out that the government had included under the health subsidised care umbrella people above 80 then those above 70.

During the meeting, the committee also discussed the defence budget with the prime minister, who is also the defence minister.

AMMAN — Social media users on Thursday called for the release of 16-year old Palestinian girl Ahed Tamimi who was arrested by the Israeli occupation forces.

Voicing solidarity with the Palestinian teen, they called on children rights agencies to take an action to ensure the release of the girl, who was arrested at dawn Tuesday after Israeli occupation forced their way into Tamimi's house Tuesday at dawn.

In a tweet tagging Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, HRH Prince Ali said: "Is this what really scares Israel? A young 16 year old girl, who has the courage to stand up for her rights as a child in the face of an illegal occupation that is breaking all norms of international law?"

"Free her," the prince (@AliBinAlHussein) said.

Lawmaker Kais Khalil Zayadin said Ahed was a source of honour and pride for the Arab nation.

"You are the resistance," said Zayadin in a post on his Facebook page, commending Ahed's courage, stubbornness and strength.

According to media reports, Tamimi was arrested for slapping a soldier during a demonstration the day before. The demonstration was organised to protest Israel’s use of force during a protest on Friday, when Ahed’s 14-year-old cousin Mohammed was shot in the face by an Israeli soldier, leaving him in critical condition. 

"Freedom for Ahed Al Tamimi," Ali Ahmaz (@Ahmaz91Ali) tweeted Thursday.

“This is the true face of the Zionist enemy. Weak and fragile and scared of a little girl that rebelled against them so they arrested her,” he tweeted.

Several tweets including Falha Rayan called on child rights groups to work for securing her release.

“Where are the actions taken by UN child agencies that defend the rights of children?” Rayan (@FalhaRayanRayane) tweeted Thursday.

Several social media users commended Ahed’s courage.

“Had we had 1 per cent of Ahed Tamimi’s courage, Palestine would have been liberated overnight,” Suzan Youssef (@SuzanYoussef2) tweeted Thursday.

Social media from various countries showed solidarity with Tamimi.

“We Are All Ahed Tamimi — Free Ahed, a 16 year old Palestinian girl arrested in the dead of night by Israel’s Armed Thugs,” Tony Greenstein‏ (@TonyGreenstein) tweeted.

AMMAN — Jordan on Thursday hailed the UN General Assembly's resolution rejecting the US administration’s unilateral recognition of Jerusalem as capital of Israel and plan to relocate the US embassy to the holy city, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The General Assembly voted with a majority of 128 votes for the resolution, which was submitted by Yemen as the head of the Arab coalition, and Turkey on behalf of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, while nine states voted against, and 35 countries abstained.

Yemen’s envoy delivered the Arab coalition's speech where he stressed the bloc's rejection of the US decision, and its support of the right of the Palestinian people to sovereignty on all occupied Palestinian lands of 1967.

State Minister for Media Affairs Mohammad Momani said that the resolution reflects the international community’s determination to ensure the illegality of any measure that targets the status quo of the holy city.

Momani, who is also the government’s spokesperson, said that the international law recognises East Jerusalem as an occupied land and that the key to peace is Jerusalem being the capital of the Palestinian state within the pre-1967 lines.

Momani called on the international community to jointly work for a resolution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on the basis of the two-state formula and in line with the relevant international legitimacy resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative, underlining peace as an Arab strategic choice.

On behalf of the Arab coalition at the UN General Assembly, Yemen’s Ambassador to the UN Khaled Al Yamani praised Jordan’s efforts under the leadership of His Majesty King Abdullah, the Custodian of the Holy Sites in occupied Jerusalem, and his endeavours in dealing with Israeli measures.

He condemned the Israeli policies, practices and plans aimed at annexing occupied East Jerusalem, changing its Arab character and its demographic structure, and attempts to change the historical and legal status of the Islamic and Christian sites, including Al Aqsa Mosque/Al Haram Al Sharif.

In this regard, he expressed the Arab coalition’s appreciation for the role played by the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in addressing all these illegal measures as custodians of the holy sites in the city.

AMMAN — Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on Thursday discussed regional developments, mainly the US decision recognising Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. 

Both ministers, in a telephone call initiated by Safadi, went over the Syrian crisis and efforts aimed at reaching a political solution, as well as developments in the de-escalation zone in southern Syria and issues related to human aid, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Safadi and Lavrov also reviewed Jordanian-Russian relations and means to develop them at all levels.

The conversation came as a new round of Syria peace talks backed by powerbrokers Russia, Iran and Turkey began earlier Thursday in the Kazakh capital Astana as major powers seek to revive a hobbled peace process (Click to see separate story).

AMMAN — A three-day consultative forum titled “Achievements and Challenges” in human rights was launched on Thursday at the Dead Sea, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.  

The forum was organised by the Government Coordinator of Human Rights Office, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in the Middle East and North Africa.

Eighty-five participants representing executive, legislative and judicial branches, civil society institutions, youth organisations, members of the follow-up committee on human rights recommendations, as well as representatives of political parties, security agencies, diplomats and missions and international organisations will discuss the Universal Periodic Review of human rights (UPR) and stages of the extensive national human rights plan, according to Petra.

Government Coordinator for Human Rights Basel Tarawneh said that the MENA Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights plays an important role in promoting and developing human rights in the Kingdom.

Tarawneh added that national human rights plan, in coordination with state institutions, has contributed in the ongoing reform process and fulfillment of national, regional and global commitments.

Representative of the High Commissioner for Human Rights MENA Mohammad Nsour praised Jordan’s continued efforts in the human rights field during difficult regional conditions.