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AMMAN — The Saudi embassy in Amman has announced that registering the biometric verifications (finger and face print) will be a basic requirement for all umrah and Hajj visa applicants starting November 5, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Sunday.

The embassy said in a press statement on Sunday that the fingerprint does not include those under 12, over 70 and holders of diplomatic and special passports. The fee for the biometric verification registration is $4.5.

The fingerprint must be linked to the passport number only, so that those who wish to obtain the visa have sufficient time to apply, according to Petra. Jordanian citizens and residents can register the fingerprint in advance even if they wanted to perform umrah at the end of the season. Appointments at selected centres will be available to individuals and umrah companies accredited by the embassy.

AMMAN — Around 525,000 people, who live in 93,698 houses, in remote areas were provided, through “Fils Al Reef” fees, with electricity since 1999 till the end of July, at a total cost of JD114 million, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported, quoting an official source on Sunday.

In an interview with the Jordan News Agency, Petra, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Saleh Kharabsheh said that with the help of money generated from fees in electricity bills known as “Fils Al Reef”, his ministry has started implementing another project that aims to provide 26 underprivileged families located away from electrical networks with electricity utilising solar power, at an estimated cost of JD135,408.

The minister stressed the importance of the project in encouraging local investment and expanding contractors and local industries in the solar energy systems sector and thus revive the national economy and create more jobs for Jordanians in such remote areas. 

AMMAN — Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and Chairman of the Joint Chief-of-Staff Lt. Gen. Mahmoud Freihat on Sunday participated in the meeting of foreign ministers and army chiefs of countries in the alliance to support legitimacy in Yemen.

During the meeting, called for by Saudi Arabia and held in Riyadh, Safadi stressed the Kingdom's support for all efforts aimed at reaching a political solution to the crisis in Yemen, in line with UN Security Council Resolution 2216, the Gulf Initiative and outcomes of the national dialogue conference.

He noted that the Arab Alliance was formed as a response to a call by the legitimate government in Yemen and is an effort to help Yemenis maintain their security, stability and sovereignty, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Peace in Yemen is a collective goal that is achieved by implementing international legitimacy resolutions that guarantee the unity and stability of the country, Safadi stressed.

The minister called on all parties to respond to the efforts being exerted to solve the crisis on bases that guarantee the return of the legitimate leadership to rule the country and safeguard the rights and safety of its people. 

He said that Jordan looks at the security of Yemen, Saudi Arabia and the entire Arabian Gulf as part of the Kingdom's national security, adding that Amman's participation in the alliance is a message that confirms such a policy.

In addition to Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Yemen, the UAE, Bahrain, Pakistan, Djibouti, Sudan, Senegal, Kuwait, Morocco and Malaysia also took part in the meeting.

Meanwhile, Minister of State for Media Affairs Mohammad Momani on Sunday said that Safadi was due to discuss with Saudi officials Jordan-Saudi cooperation over Saudi Arabia’s planned NEOM scheme. The project is mainly a $500-billion mega-city that adopts high-tech projects powered by wind and solar energy.

Momani said on Thursday that the NEOM project, launched by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman within the 2030 Saudi vision blueprint, will contribute to increasing economic growth rates and enhancing investment in the region.

A 26,000-square-kilometre project to be implemented on the shores of the Red Sea, NEOM extends over Jordanian and Egyptian lands, in addition to Saudi Arabia.

AMMAN — Minister of State for Media Affairs Mohammad Momani on Sunday affirmed the need to respect the unity and sovereignty of the Kingdom of Spain over all its territory, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

Momani, who is also the government's spokesperson, stressed in a press statement the need to respect the constitution and the laws of Spain, pointing out that the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan does not recognise the “unconstitutional independence of the province of Catalonia”.

Momani confirmed Jordan's support for the Spanish government in its legitimate measures to preserve Spain's unity and sovereignty through its territory, emphasising the close relation between the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the Kingdom of Spain.

Spain's biggest political crisis in decades mounted on Friday when secessionists in the Catalan parliament voted to declare the wealthy northeastern region of some 7.5 million people an independent republic, Agence France-Presse reported.
The central government reacted by temporarily stripping the region of its autonomy, declaring the dismissal of secessionist regional president, Carles Puigdemont, and his executive.

Hundreds of thousands of Spaniards rallied in Catalonia's capital Barcelona on Sunday, waving national and European flags and chanting "Viva Espana!" to denounce regional lawmakers' vote to sever the region from Spain (see story on page 6).

AMMAN — Minister of Social Development (MoS) Hala Lattouf on Sunday said the shelter for women whose lives are in danger due to reasons related to “family honour” will open in March.

The government in August allocated JD1 million to start housing women whose lives are in danger instead of placing them in the women's correctional and rehabilitation facilities for indefinite periods without any laid charges.

“We are in the final stages of locating the suitable building and we are aiming for the month of March to have a full operating centre,” Lattouf told The Jordan Times. 

The minister said that a MoS committee has started meeting with female inmates to determine their cases.

“We will adopt special classifications and admission criteria to admit female inmates as well as the women referred by various local organisations that help abused women and children,” Lattouf added.

The official stressed that the ministry wants to open the shelter as soon as possible because “we want to ensure that Jordanian women whose lives are in danger receive the proper protection and services they deserve”.

Director of the juvenile and social defence at the MoS, Jalal Gharib, said there are currently around “70 women who are in prison for administrative detention”.

“The number of these women could increase or decrease and our teams are meeting with them on a regular basis.  We plan to admit them to the centre gradually,” Gharib told The Jordan Times.

The ministry official added that work is now ongoing to train “MoS employees and experts to run the house”.

“We want to ensure that all is set when the shelter opens, including ensuring a well-trained staff and safe location,” Gharib added.

He noted that the ministry is also working on the by-law governing sheltering facilities, along with the civil society, including Mizan Law Group (MLG), “so that when the shelter opens, the rules under which it will operate will be in place”.

Executive director of MLG, lawyer Eva Abu Halaweh, who is working closely with the MoS on the shelter project, said: “The ministry is very serious about this project and we are excited to be part of it.”

“We have drafted a work plan with the MoS that tackles all the steps that we need to adopt from the moment we meet with inmates until the shelter opens its doors in March,” Abu Halaweh told The Jordan Times.

The activist added that she was also meeting with the women at the correctional facility to determine “their needs and to try to solve their detention problems even before the shelter opens”.

“We are working closely with the administrative governor on solving cases until the shelter opens.  The good thing is that once the shelter is open, women in similar cases will no longer be admitted to correctional and rehabilitation facilities as a form of protection,” she added.

Both Abu Halaweh and Gharib stressed that female inmates who will be admitted to the shelter “will have the freedom of mobility and will be there temporarily until they are empowered financially and trained on a profession so that they can depend on themselves”. 

Currently, any woman whose life is in danger for reasons related to so-called family honour, and whose case is known to the authorities, is placed at the women’s correctional facility by the administrative governor in what is termed as “protective custody”.

Many of these women spend indefinite periods in the centre, sometimes exceeding 10 years, without any charges levelled against them. The women cannot leave the facility without the administrative governor’s permission, according to activists.

Most of the women in the facilities are inmates held on cases such as rape, adultery, incest and for going missing from home, according to officials.

On some occasions, women were reported to have been killed once they are bailed by family members even after they had signed a guarantee not to inflict harm on them. 

Around 20 women are murdered annually for reasons related to cleansing “family honour” in Jordan. 

AMMAN — The Ministry of Education will adopt the criteria of The Queen Rania Award for Excellence in Education (QRAEE) in the currently developing teaching strategy, Education Minister Omar Razzaz said on Saturday.

The career path strategy that aims to enhance career growth will adapt the award’s criteria of innovation and excellence to become part of the ministry’s culture, especially in providing qualitative education to all students around the Kingdom, which is still a challenge for the ministry, Razzaz added.

The minister’s remarks came during a ceremony to honour 113 teachers and 23 school principals from across the Kingdom, where they were awarded certificates of appreciation within advanced stages of QRAEE 2017. 

QRAEE is based on criteria that shape innovation and excellence in education through  effective teaching and instruction, life-long learning, sustainable professional and self-development, creativity and innovation, work ethic and achievements.

The award which was established in 2005, recently started honouring teachers in order to motivate them, Chief Executive Officer of the Queen Rania Award Association Lubna Touqan told The Jordan Times at the ceremony. 

Among the awardees, 50 teachers and 20 principals have already reached the award’s final stages. Once field visits and interviews are over, winners will be announced and honoured in a ceremony under the patronage of Her Majesty Queen Rania in December, Tuoqan said.

One of the nominees, Rana Qasem, a science teacher to deaf children, said that her love for her students was her motivation  to learn sign language for  helping them and communicating with them. 

“I am ready to take part in any programme or training that will enhance my skills to help my students,” Qasem, the teacher at Amal high school for  the hearing-impaired, said. 

Feedback from the award’s interim process showed that 46 per cent of the applicants have adapted the award’s innovation criterion in their work, 85 per cent learned time management and documentation skills, 50 per cent enhanced their teaching skills and 57 per cent improved their personal skills. 

Faten Amer, an awardee from Zarqa First Directorate of students with learning difficulty, said that she has learned leadership skills by applying some of the criteria of the award in her daily work.

Touqan said that award winners from the previous years have established their first project called “My Prettier Environment”, which paved the way for a healthy, beautiful and clean school.

“The project will instill in the student values of responsibility as [active] partner in the project,” she noted. 

The project founders, along with the involved association, have created a step-by-step guide book to help teachers apply the project model in various schools. 

The Ministry of Education will be piloting the project in a few schools to measure its feasibility for adaptation across the Kingdom, she concluded. 

AMMAN — Jordan and Turkey, which face many common challenges, see eye to eye on several issues and benefit from increased cooperation and trade exchange for untapped markets, according to Turkish Ambassador in Amman Murat Karagöz.

This year, the two countries mark the 70th anniversary of their diplomatic ties, but more needs to be done to increase cooperation to find common solutions to the challenges they face including the fight against terrorism, the civil war in Syria, Iraq’s instability, the influx of refugees and impeded trade routes, said the ambassador in a recent interview with The Jordan Times on the occasion of the 94th Turkish National Day, which the embassy will mark on Sunday.

“Jordan and Turkey, for example, share similar views when it comes to the Palestinian issue and Jerusalem and other issues…There are more overlapping issues in our bilateral and regional and international agendas and therefore I believe that Turkey and Jordan need each other,” said the ambassador, adding that political ties between the two states were in “good shape”.

On the free trade agreement that went into effect in 2011, the ambassador said the agreement coupled with visa free travel regime and mutual direct flights were key pillars for economic cooperation between the two countries.

Jordanian officials and businesspeople, however, have recently claimed that the deal did not impact Jordanian economy positively nor increased Jordan’s exports to Turkey.

“I understand the Jordanian businessmen and sympathise with their claims that they did not benefit… We need to do our best to balance the trade exchange, broaden it and deepen it,” the ambassador said.

“I can understand, to a certain extent, the criticism that is accelerated by the situation in the region,” he added, saying that the situation in Syria and Iraq, along with the Palestinian issue and the Gulf crisis, made matters worse.

The ambassador said the remedy was not to cancel the free trade agreement or linger on the message that it needs to be reviewed.

“We should rather check how we can make the existing agreement more beneficial through its current form,” he said.

In 2014, we reached $1 billion trade exchange.  In 2016, it declined to $820 million due to regional conditions.

This year, trade exchange is expected to be similar to the volume in 2016, said the ambassador.

“Jordan’s exports to Turkey are limited. There is an imbalance of one to six. Most of it is Turkish exports to Jordan,” he said.

To increase Jordanian exports to Turkey, the ambassador said there was a need for increased participation by Jordanian businesspeople in Turkish trade fairs to promote their industries and businesses.

“We already buy potash and some agricultural material from Jordan, but there is also potential for exploring new areas such as tourism, renewable energy and the medicine.”

Turkish government, he said, was also exerting its utmost efforts to encourage Turkish investors to come to Jordan for businesses.

Direct Turkish investments in Jordan stand at about $300 million, which is “not enough”.

“We also need Jordan to promote itself more to show them why they should come and invest here. Jordan should not stand still. It takes two to tango,” said the ambassador.

The diplomat added that Turkey was willing to increase technical assistance to Jordan “but we need guidance on which areas, is it SMEs, tourism, any other field”.

On tourism, Karagöz said some 210,000 Jordanians visited Turkey in 2016.

The ambassador, who said there were no exact figures about the number of Turkish tourists to Jordan, noted that the Kingdom has so much to offer including Petra, Ajloun, Jerash, Wadi Rum, among other places.

“I believe that with reasonable and affordable prices and packages the number of Turkish visitors will increase,” he added.

On cooperation in the field of education, the ambassador said 800 Jordanian students are currently in Turkey majoring in business administration, management and social sciences.

“We offer 50 to 60 scholarships to Jordanian students every year and we hope to increase the number…we welcome students to apply through the embassy’s website. These scholarships are fully paid,” he added.

According to the diplomat, there are 100 Turkish students studying Arabic and Islamic studies in Jordan “and  are very happy here”.

Stressing that Turkey is an island of stability in the region, the ambassador said: “Turkey is a democratic, social, secular state governed by rule of law.”

In spite of all challenges and last year’s  failed coup, Turkey is the sixth largest economy in Europe and the 17th largest economy in the world, he said.

The ambassador added that mega projects in Turkey were under way including building an airport, which will be the largest in the world.

AMMAN — The Talal Abu-Ghazaleh Knowledge Forum (TAGKF) has hosted Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Imad Fakhoury in a dialogue session that addressed the repercussions of the  regional crises on the national economy.

Since 2011, Jordan has faced several unprecedented external shocks that affected the economy, Fakhoury said, noting that the repercussions that the Kingdom has incurred were mainly results of the “so-called Arab Spring” and hosting hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees, according to a ministry statement on Saturday. 

Other burdens include losing main markets of exports and the interruption of gas supplies from Egypt, which costs Jordan around JD5.5 billion and contributed to increasing debts, the minister added.

He said that economic growth rates went down from more than 6 per cent between 2000 and 2010 to almost third the during the past seven years, and that unemployment went up from 12 per cent in 2010 to 18 per cent in the second quarter of 2017. 

The interruption of Egyptian gas supplies, which used to generate 90 per cent of the Kingdom’s electricity, was accompanied with a hike in international oil prices reaching $120 per barrel and more than $140 in some periods, Fakhoury said, adding that Jordan imports 97 per cent of its energy needs. 

The annual subsidy for oil derivatives then increased to $800 million per annum, and to $2 billion for electricity as a result of using diesel and fuel oil in generating power, where electricity generating costs went up by 500 per cent, he added.

The bill for importing oil and its derivatives constituted around 22 per cent of the Kingdom’s gross domestic product, the minister noted. 

The direct cost of hosting 1.3 million Syrian refugees — whose number is currently estimated at 1.4 million — reached $10.5 billion over the past seven years, standing annually at $1.5 billion, constituting of 4 per cent of GDP and 16 per cent of the yearly government revenues. 

The indirect cost, according to a joint study by UNDP and the TAG-KF, stands between $3.1 billion and $3.4 billion each year, he added.

The government embarked on resorting to renewable energy and shale oil projects to generate electricity, Fakhoury said, expecting the percentage of imported energy to drop to 90 per cent by December.

He added that current schemes will continue until the country is able to generate 20 per cent of its power needs from renewable energy sources by 2020.

Fakhoury said that the debt-GDP ratio increased from 62 to 95 per cent over the past seven years with annual average of 5 per cent, due to the external events Jordan has suffered from, noting that financial reforms contributed to maintaining the percentage for this year. 

He also went over the Jordan 2025 Document, which identifies the general framework that will govern economic and social policies based on granting opportunities for all.

Among the main bases of the document are citizens who constitute the principal component of the development process. People can help build economy that relies on competitiveness and expanding exports, enhance the rule of law, increase participation in decision-making and boosting self-reliance, among others, the minister noted.

Referring to the 2018-2022 Economic Growth Stimulation Plan, he said it aims at restoring momentum of economic growth and utilising Jordan’s development potential within four main aspects: overall stability of the national economy, competitiveness and investment, infrastructure and economic sectors and social development.

The plan includes 95 procedures that are related to government reforms and 85 government projects with a total value of JD6.9 billion, according to the minister. 

AMMAN — World-renowned scientists, along with policymakers and experts in the scientific field will convene in Jordan on November 7 at the World Science Forum 2017 to look into the role science plays in building a future that promises greater equality, stability, security and opportunity.

Held at the King Hussein Convention Centre at the Dead Sea, the forum will attract more than 190 speakers delivering over 45 sessions to some 3,000 anticipated attendees from over 140 countries, according to a statement by the World Science Forum (WSF) e-mailed to The Jordan Times on Saturday.

"Science for Peace" is the theme of the four-day forum that will include key sessions on topics including energy, water, food and the right to education for unlocking opportunities worldwide. Delegates will also examine the challenges and opportunities of the digital age.

The sessions are scheduled to cover several issues including the future of the universality of science, connecting scientists with politicians and diplomats to achieve  peace and sustainable development, the role of women in engineering, science and food security, the role of artificial and human intelligence in solving global challenges, promotion of Arab women in science, among others, according to the forum's website.

“We will meet under the banner of ‘Science for Peace’ as we present our vision of a world in which science plays an increasingly prominent role as an enabler of equitable and sustainable development for all our people. We define ‘peace’ as far more than the absence of conflict. Our universal right to peace is so much more than a claim to life without conflict,” the organisers said in the statement.

“It must also imply an absence of fear and depravation of the requirements for a whole and healthy life. It encompasses an equal claim for all to the resources and potential of our planet. ‘Science for Peace’ signifies a call for the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals, and for the promise of hope and opportunity in the lives of all people in a world, where borders must matter little as we struggle to build a better, and inevitably shared future,” the statement read. 

The forum seeks to highlight the role of science in building and fostering a culture of peace at all levels and for all parts of society, and the potential of science to create mechanisms to enable lives that promise peaceful opportunity, the statement added. 

The WSF 2017 aims to give a voice to science in Jordan and the Middle East, and to bring empowered science and scientific  thinking to  public and private spheres.

The forum would give Jordan a chance to showcase what a small, open and innovative country could offer to the region and beyond, HRH Princess Sumaya, Chair of WSF 2017 and President of the Royal Scientific Society, said in a statement to The Jordan Times.

“We want the world to know that we are connected to scientific research and thought processes across the globe, through our triumphant diaspora scientists and through our networked young researchers and engineers here at home,” said the Princess.

She highlighted those aspects of the forum that would help strengthen the bonds between Jordan’s scientific community with the world.

“WSF 2017 is helping us start a movement that will leave a lasting legacy for our nation and our people. Whether by celebrating Jordan’s Stars of Science, our Global Young Scientists, or Women in Science, we are ensuring that our scientific talent is at the table in terms of discussion and engagement at a global level,” the Princess said.

The organisers praised Jordan as a nation that lays at the heart of a region where countless civilisations have used innovation to survive, and where creative adaptation and cultural exchange have gone hand in hand. 

Although  Jordan has limited natural resources and many demographic and environmental challenges,  “the nation is blessed with a fast-growing young population that has learned from a long and wonderfully rich history wherein innovation has worked with a challenging environment to create wealth, opportunity, beauty and community”, according to the statement.

As the needs of the nation develop, and the challenges that it faces become more linked to the carrying capacity of the territory and the productive potential of the people, Jordan increasingly represents an advanced vision of the critical challenges facing the world.

“The carrying capacity of our region is stretched to a point where only innovation and engagement across borders may guarantee a secure and sustainable future for our people. With the population of the region predicted to grow by 17.3 per cent over the next 10 years, it is clear that our challenges will define our future, unless we act decisively and innovatively. Jordan’s challenges are mirrored around the world and felt at different intensities in both developed and developing nations,” the organisers said.

AMMAN — The government coordinator for human rights Basel Tarawneh on Saturday said he plans to meet with civil society organisations ahead of a meeting in Geneva next month on racial discrimination.

“I plan to meet with government organisations and civil society groups to discuss the issue of racial discrimination in Jordan to prepare the Kingdom’s report on this matter,” Tarawneh told The Jordan Times.

Tarawneh said the report will be presented during the meeting of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) in Geneva, Switzerland, on November 23.

“I will write down on all the comments and notes during the meeting with the entities that deal with this topic and will present it in Geneva next month,” Tarawneh added.

It is “essential” to show the most recent steps the Kingdom adopted in this regard, Tarawneh added.

The human rights coordinator did not reveal the content of the report or comment about the recent situation in Jordan, stating that his priority is to “meet up with the concerned entities before issuing the findings”.

The CERD is the body of independent experts that monitors implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination by its state parties.

All state parties are obliged to submit regular reports to the committee on how the rights are being implemented. States must initially report one year after acceding to the convention and then every two years after. The committee examines each report and addresses its concerns and recommendations to the state party in the form of “concluding observations”.

The CERD responded to the Kingdom’s single document containing its combined 18th to 20th periodic reports in July 2016, which covered the efforts made by Jordan, its achievements and the steps it has taken to promote a culture that rejects any and all forms of racial discrimination.The kingdom’s document highlighted amendments made to the constitution that focused on the respect of the citizens’ dignity; no citizen may be subjected to any kind of physical or mental abuse; and Jordanians have the right to establish trade unions and political parties, the right to free and compulsory education and the right to work. Through those provisions, legal protection from abuse and exploitation is afforded to mothers, children, older persons and persons with disabilities, according to the document. 

The amendments are also intended to guarantee freedom of opinion, freedom of the press and of printing and publishing, media freedom, the freedom to participate in creative, literary, artistic, cultural and sporting activities, the document stated.

Jordan stressed in the document that all acts of violence or incitement against individuals or groups on account of their race, colour, descent or ethnic or racial origin constitute offences under Jordanian law. In the same way, Jordanian criminal law — the Criminal Code — is applicable to all individuals, both citizens and residents, in the same degree and without discrimination. 

The Criminal Code and other pieces of criminal legislation penalise all forms of discrimination and the propagation of ideas based on racial superiority or racial hatred, as well as all incitement to racial discrimination and all acts of violence or incitement committed against any race or group on the basis of colour or ethnicity.