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BONN — Jordan on Thursday expressed hope that the 23rd session of the Conference of Parties (COP23) results in deepening the level of trust between all parties to the Paris agreement, as world nations approach the 2018 deadline for adopting the agreement’s rulebook.

At the plenary session of the COP 23, Minister of Environment Yaseen Khayyat delivered Jordan’s statement, in which he underlined that “trust is the key word”, noting that, with so many countries expressing their renewed pledges to support the Paris Agreement, there is hope for achieving the desired impact.

According to the Paris agreement, adopted in 2015, there must be a balance between emissions from human activity and the amount that can be captured by carbon-absorbing “sinks” by the second-half of this century. It stipulates that developed nations “should provide” funding to help developing countries implement the costly shift to green energy and shore up their defences against climate change impacts like drought and storms, while rich countries are required to pledge $100 billion a year.

“We are approaching the vital deadline of 2018 and beyond, and these are the times where deals will be made or broken,” Khayyat stressed.

Trust will be done through the reciprocal actions of developed and developing countries, the minister said, noting that, as developing countries need to continue to provide support through financial and technical means, financial resources should be dispersed in a way that addresses the real needs of developing countries, “especially in areas of adaptation, loss and damage, capacity development and technology transfer”.

Diplomats, scientists and environmentalists from 195 nations are scheduled to attend the concluding ceremony on Friday, after two weeks of negotiations, where they will announce the operating guidelines for the Paris agreement.

The guidelines will detail how nations can reach and achieve the goals announced at the Paris Agreement, which sets a target of limiting global warming to 1.5ºC  or 2ºC at the most by the end of the century.

At COP 23rd plenary session, Khayyat underscored that transparency frameworks for financial flow are also vital to identify the volume and trends of climate finance and how they can be checked and balanced to guarantee fairness and real impact.

Developing countries need to commit to a path of low emission development that responds at the same time to their own sustainable development needs. Such voluntary commitment must stem from domestic needs and priorities and be able to contribute to achieving national sustainable development goals in complete alignment with global Sustainable Development Goals.

“As a developing nation, Jordan will enhance its efforts in mitigation in the context of sustainable development, poverty eradication, and ‘Leaving No One Behind’.  Through collaboration… we ought to create a reliable global financing mechanisms for climate actions. The leadership in Jordan believes that ambition and progression should be part of the elements of adaptation as well as mitigation,” Khayyat highlighted.

The minister expressed Jordan’s determination and willingness to play an essential part in the global effort to reverse the impacts of climate change, despite the extraordinary challenges it faces in light of the water and energy sectors.

“Despite such challenges, Jordan is still determined to achieve the target set by its nationally determined contributions and to continue on the path of climate friendly sustainable development,” Khayyat said.

AMMAN — “I was in a coma and I came back to life; now I am respected, my children and grandchildren visit me and I can provide for them.”

These are some of the testimonies Aghadeer Jweihan, director of the Princess Taghrid Institute recalled of the women beneficiaries of the Pure Felt Jordan project, conducted by the institute in collaboration with the Swiss association Pure Felt.

The project, launched in 2016 in Ghor Fifa in southern Jordan, aims to empower marginalised jobless women by safeguarding continued employment and income through the creation of traditional “felt” textile crafts.

“Because Ghor Fifa is based on a seasonal agriculture, most women can only find jobs during those seasons. Their jobs and income are not sustainable during the rest of the year,” said founder and Chairman of Pure Felt Switzerland Dianne Schepers.

Twenty-six previously unemployed women from Ghor Fifa and Amman were recently trained to the creative technique of felting, through a seven-module course that included felting, dyeing, personal finance, project management, communication and presentation, marketing, finance and organisation, according to Jweihan.

Divided into two groups — the felters and the wool preparers — the participants learned to make use of the wool of the local Awassi sheeps, which they scoured and dyed to create some art pieces designed by Schepers.

Thriteen of these felt artworks and installations are currently on display at the Jordan National Gallery of Fine Arts, offering the visitors an atypical sensory experience through pieces of all shapes and forms open for the public to touch. 

With Pure Felt Jordan, 18 previously jobless women aged between 41 and 73 years old were trained to become wool preparers, carders, spinners, weavers and dyers, while eight young women of the institute in Amman and four ladies in Ghor Fifa were trained and employed as professional felters. 

Most of these women are part of what Schepers called “the forgotten age group”, being widows, grandmothers, most of them over 40 years of age. 

“This project truly changed their lives. These women have been growing, they are stronger, independent, and have their self worth back,” Jweihan told The Jordan Times at the institute.

Among the felters from the institute, several women suffer from physical disabilities. “They are some of the most talented felters and carders in the project,” Jweihan said, noting that they have developed a special connection to the fibre of wool, which magnified their natural talent.

“Pure Felt is an important project that makes use of the local natural resources to produce beautiful, sustainable and meaningful creations,” Jwaihan said, stressing that the project also helps revive the traditional craft of felting.

“Because this initiative is kind of ‘out of the box’, it is quite challenging to sustain it,” the director said, noting that they have now expanded to create more practical felt pieces including rugs, pots, table cloths to increase the products’ outreach.

“I have a lot of hope for this project; you should see these women at work; they truly put their soul into it. They are instilling life into the pieces,” Jwaihan concluded.

AMMAN — The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, on Thursday signed an agreement with Jordan to help improve trade and passenger flow between the West Bank and Jordan by expanding and refurbishing facilities at a key crossing point through a public-private partnership (PPP). 

IFC will provide advisory services to Ministry of Public Works and Housing to develop the new King Hussein Bridge crossing terminal, it said in a statement e-mailed to The Jordan Times on Thursday. 

The aim is to engage the private sector in constructing and operating new facilities at the terminal, currently the only crossing point for West Bank residents to travel abroad. Existing facilities at the crossing terminal are straining to cope with increased traffic and cargo, with 97,000 cargo trucks and 2.2 million people travelling through the crossing in 2016, the statement said.

The IFC team will conduct a legal, technical, commercial, environmental and social review of the project to help develop a robust PPP transaction structure and appropriate risk allocation for the public and private sectors, the statement said.

“This is a key crossing point for both the West Bank and Jordan, which also processes a significant amount for trade,” Sami Halaseh, Minister of Public Works and Housing, was quoted in the statement as saying.

“IFC’s expertise will help us structure an agreement to create a larger, more modern terminal that will help meet increasing demand, improve service levels for users, reduce transit times, and improve efficiency and working conditions for our staff,” he added.

The proposed new terminal is expected to have "state-of-the-art" truck and passenger handling facilities, including modern cargo and luggage scanning, multi-traffic lane entry and exit points with electric gates and check booths, a duty-free facility, and a medical emergency centre. 

“IFC has significant experience in structuring complex PPPs around the world and we are delighted to bring our expertise to this key project,” said Emmanuel Nyirinkindi, global head of PPP Advisory from IFC in the statement. “The new facility will help improve passengers’ experiences and also boost the flow of trade between the West Bank and Jordan,” he added.

The World Bank Group-managed Global Infrastructure Facility will support this key project by funding the legal and technical consultancy work required, as well as any required capacity-building support. 

IFC has advised governments in the region on a wide range of projects, including structuring the Queen Alia International Airport PPP in Jordan, the New Cairo Wastewater Treatment plant in Egypt, and the West Bank solid waste management PPP for the townships of Hebron and Bethlehem, to name a few. IFC has also committed a total of $766 million in a variety of projects in the country in FY17, according to the statement.  

AMMAN — Jordan on Thursday condemned a terror attack that targeted Nigeria on Wednesday evening, killing and injuring several people, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Minister of State for Media Affairs Mohammad Momani said that Jordan strongly condemns the bloody attacks perpetrated by the Boko Haram terror group in northeastern Nigeria, renewing Jordan's firm stance against terrorism within a holistic strategy.

Momani, who is also the government spokesperson, extended Jordan's condolences to the victims' families and wished the injured a speedy recovery. Four suicide bombers, two women and two men, detonated their explosives on Wednesday evening in the northeastern Nigerian city of Maiduguri, leaving 12 people dead and 22 injured. 

AMMAN — HRH Prince Feisal, president of the Jordan Olympic Committee (JOC), on Thursday met with President of the International Association of Athletics Federations Sebastian Coe and Dahlan Al Hamad, president of the Asian Athletics Association, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

During the meeting, the prince, Coe and Hamad discussed cooperation between Jordan and the associations.

As part of their visit to Jordan, Coe and Hamad visited Tela Al Ali sport hall and had a firsthand look at the project of the sport school that is implemented by JOC and the Education Ministry. The school aims to increase the number of students with high-level training in volley ball and athletics.   

AMMAN — Chairman of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff Lt. Gen. Mahmoud Freihat on Thursday met Canadian Ambassador to Jordan Peter MacDougall and an accompanying delegation over cooperation between the armed forces of both countries.

The Canadian military attaché in Amman attended the meeting, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

AMMAN — Former labour minister Khalid Ghezawi passed away on Thursday, the Jordan News Agency Petra, reported. Prime Minister Hani Mulki expressed his condolences to Ghezawi's family and commended his performance while in office. Ghezawi was labour minister between 1993 and 1995.

AMMAN — HRH Prince Feisal, the King’s adviser and chairman of the National Policies Council, on Thursday met with a delegation from the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and discussed the strategic ties between Jordan and the US, as well as the latest regional developments.

The meeting, held at Al Husseiniya Palace, in the presence of Royal Court Chief Fayez Tarawneh, also focused on Jordan’s support to efforts aimed at reaching political solutions to regional crises, in addition to international efforts to fight terrorism within a holistic strategy, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

They discussed efforts exerted to push forward the peace process between the Palestinians and the Israelis, and the pressure placed by the Syrian refugee crisis on Jordan’s health, education and infrastructure sectors.

Members of the delegation praised Jordan›s pivotal role in the region, under the leadership of His Majesty King Abdullah, working to achieve security and stability regionally and globally.

They also commended the Kingdom’s humanitarian role towards Syrian refugees.

Also on Thursday, Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi met with members of the delegation, headed by Council President Ivo H. Daalder, and went over the latest regional developments and efforts exerted to solve the regional crises.

They reviewed the Kingdom’s role in contributing to achieving regional security, stability and peace, Petra added.

Safadi and the delegates discussed Jordanian-US ties and their development in various fields, as well as the increasing cooperation between Amman and Washington.  

The minister acquainted the delegates with the Kingdom’s stances over regional developments and its role in finding political solutions to current crises, fighting terrorism and instilling the values of peace and respect for others.

AMMAN — Istisqaa prayer will be held across the Kingdom on Friday, following calls made by the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs urging Jordanians to participate in the prayer. 

A statement posted on the ministry’s website said that Awqaf Minister Wael Arabiyat notified heads of Awqaf directorates in Jordan to organise the Istisqaa prayer at the mosques that host Friday prayers. 

The special Muslim prayer for rain is a ritual practised since the time of Prophet Mohammad and is held due to lack of rain. 

However, Arabiaweather’s Chief Meteorologist Omar Al Dajani said there is no reason for people to feel panicked over the lack of rain. 

“Rainfall this season did come late but this is not the first time the Kingdom suffers from such a condition. If we look back to history, we can notice that Jordan received rain at a late time of year in 2010 and in 1999,” he told The Jordan Times over the phone. 

He noted that the rain season starts in October and wraps up in April. 

“In the 2013-2014 winter season, the Alexa snowstorm hit the Kingdom, bringing good amounts of rainfall. It then did not rain for the following two months and started raining again in March. This had a negative impact on the agricultural field,” he added.

In the meantime, Dajani said that temperatures are forecast to decrease as of Sunday, with a low pressure expected to prevail in the mid of next week. The Jordanian meteorologist noted that it might bring rain.

AMMAN — Minister of State for Media Affairs and Government Spokesperson Mohammad Momani on Thursday said that His Majesty King Abdullah’s Speech from the Throne at the opening of the second ordinary session of Parliament represents a “strategic” national guidance for the legislative and executive authorities. 

In his weekly interview on the Jordan Television’s morning show “News and Dialogue”, Momani said that the speech reflected the Royal vision on work priorities in the upcoming stage and included important indications that should be considered in the government›s work.

Momani, who is also the government spokesman, said that it directed the three branches of government to continue cooperating to accomplish their duties in all fields, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

He added that the speech included positive encouragements and a praise to what had been achieved in the extraordinary session, during which Parliament endorsed judicial reform laws that were proposed by the Royal Committee for the Development of Judiciary.

The minister noted that the speech referred to the reports and documents including governmental policies, especially the “accomplishment report”, which outlines the reform process in various sectors, which the government had referred to the King.  

Momani stressed that the next stage requires going forward in applying the self-reliance principle so as to reach deficit-free budgets, with revenues equalling expenditures, so as to protect the national economy. 

He emphasised that the government has adopted clear policies towards the public, and acquainted them with the real economic situation through providing logical reasons for economic reform decisions that were a result of decreasing foreign aid. 

In light of its large administrative personnel and hike in unemployment rates among young people, the minister said that the government has allocated funds to implement programmes, under the supervision of the Labour Ministry, to substitute guest workers with Jordanians.

He added that the private sector provides jobs for the youth, where they can enjoy job stability and receive social security insurance, just like in the public sector.

Finally, Momani referred to the draft law of the general budget and budget of the independent government units that was discussed during Wednesday›s Cabinet session, adding that it is now in its final stages and is scheduled to be endorsed early next week before being sent to Parliament.