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AMMAN — Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Lt. Gen. Mahmoud Freihat on Monday received Commander of Special Operations at US Command Central Maj. Gen. Darsie D.Rogers and an accompanying delegation, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The two sides discussed coordination between the armed forces of both countries.

AMMAN — The Cabinet on Sunday, in a session chaired by Prime Minister Hani Mulki, approved in principle the instructions governing the online exchange of data among public departments, under the Electronic Transactions Law.

These new rules are considered comprehensive guidelines that can replace any bilateral agreement between any two given public agencies, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Monday, adding that the regulations aim at speeding up online connectivity and enhancing cooperation and coordination among public institutions.

The instructions, which are meant to facilitate and ease the processing of people’s businesses with public departments, are coupled with action plans and the main operational procedures related to the inter-agency online connection. 

The plan is part of a drive to reform the public sector and improve the quality of services government agencies offer to citizens.

In May this year, His Majesty King Abdullah chaired a meeting to follow up on the progress in the government’s plan to develop civil administration and accelerate work on the e-government programme.

Dozens of services will be available online in January, officials have announced, with some having already been in place.  

AMMAN — China is committed to continue providing technical and financial support to Jordan, Qian Keming, deputy minister of commerce in China, said on Monday.

The minister made the remarks following the signing of the minutes of the meetings at the 7th session of the Joint Committee for Economic, Commercial and Technical Cooperation between Jordan and China.

The meetings shed light on key areas that have the potential for witnessing increased cooperation between the two sides.

The Chinese official stressed his country’s eagerness to boost cooperation within Jordan’s various sectors.

He said that Jordan was a key partner in the One Belt, One Road initiative.

Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Imad Fakhoury said the two sides looked into increasing aid to Jordan to implement priority projects and benefit from a $70 million Chinese grant for developing projects that consist of upgrading the civil defence vehicles, and inspection devices at the Customs Department, among other projects. 

Fakhoury said discussions covered the need to increase Chinese investments in Jordan in the fields of gas, energy and oil shale, as well as renewable energy, potash and phosphate fertilisers. 

In a statement by the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, it was agreed to start technical meetings between the two sides to draw a draft between the two countries with regard to the One Belt, One Road initiative.

Discussions also covered increased cooperation in tourism.

 Jordan and China also signed the Programme for Development, Economic and Technical Cooperation for the years 2018-2020.

The two sides signed a development assistance agreement to finance a road project (Salt Al Ardah). It is set to be constructed by Jordanian and Chinese companies at a total cost of $31.6 million.

From 1999 to 2016, China provided Jordan with grants and loans totalling to $225 million.

AMMAN — Jordan’s stability and safety along with its talented human resources and business-friendly environment are among the key reasons for doing business in the Kingdom, Vladimir Bartl, Czech deputy minister of industry and Trade, said Monday.

Jordan is continuously investing in infrastructure, development and energy projects including nuclear, which has great economic potential, Bartl said at a Jordanian-Czech business forum that attracted businesspeople from various industries including defence from both countries.

“Jordan is a gateway to many markets across the world,” the Czech official said, adding that Jordan was an economic hub for the reconstruction process in neighbouring countries.

The official added that the business forum was another step in the path to further enhance ties between the two sides. 

Czech Ambassador Petr Hladik said the business mission to Jordan follows a visit by Prime Minister Hani Mulki this summer to the Czech Republic to strengthen ties in various sectors.

“Today there are businesspeople from the Czech Republic who will meet with their Jordanian counterparts to explore opportunities…Business-to-business meetings will help boost trade exchange between the two countries,” said the ambassador.

Ziad Homsi, chairman of the Amman chamber of industry, said the trade volume between the two countries was “modest”, stressing that the untapped potential is immense.

“Jordan is signatory to several trade agreements with the US, Turkey, Canada and the Arab states and business can enjoy access to all these markets in addition to the EU rules of origin,” Homsi said.

Ghassan Kherfan, first vice chairman of the Amman chamber of commerce, said Jordan’s exports to the Czech Republic reached around less than half a million, which is still very modest.

“The private sector in both countries can do more to boost trade and cooperation,” Kherfan concluded.

AMMAN — The University of Jordan (UJ) was ranked 9th best university in the QS Arab Region University Ranking for 2018, maintaining its position among the top 10 universities in the region. 

The ranking, published on the QS World University Ranking website on Tuesday, features 160 of the region’s most prestigious universities assessing each institution’s reputation among employers and academics, including web and research impact. 

“The UJ achieved the fifth place in reputation among employers, showing how its graduates are highly regarded,” said the ranking report, highlighting that the university “maintains a large number of international partnerships and agreements, mostly for student exchange programmes with institutions such as Vanderbilt University in the US and the Gothenburg University in Sweden.”

Furthermore, the ranking awarded the UJ four stars out of five, excelling in the categories of teaching, employability, innovation and inclusivity. 

The university was also included in the last year’s QS World University Ranking, making it to the category of the top 551-600 universities worldwide. 

Higher Education Minister Adel Tweisi told The Jordan Times that he “would like to congratulate the UJ for this achievement, hoping that they will keep moving up on the list, both at the regional and international levels”.

When asked about the factors that could have been improved, Manager of UoJ’s Quality Assurance Centre Faleh Sawair told The Jordan Times that “the university’s position could have been better if the proportion of students to faculty members was not affected by the financial status of the university”.

“The percentage of foreign faculty members is not satisfactory for Jordanian universities compared with other universities in the region due to the legislation that limits the percentage of foreign faculty members,” he continued.  

Furthermore, Sawair pointed out that “the university is not specialised in scientific and health specialties, which negatively affects the number of scientific research for each faculty member and the number of scientific citations of such research” .

Other Jordanian universities were also featured in the report.The Jordanian University for Science and Technology (JUST) stood close to UJ at position 14th, followed by Yarmouk University (29th), Princess Sumaya University for Technology (42th) and the Hashemite University (48th). 

JUST achieved a rating of five stars, excelling in categories such as teaching, employability, internationalisation, facilities, innovation and inclusiveness. 

“Our target is to be internationally ranked rather than regionally”, said JUST President Omar Al Jarrah, adding that JUST is “looking forward to enter the QS list of top 500 universities worldwide by 2019”.

“We are now positioned as one of the 500 best universities in the world according to the Times Higher Education ranking, and we are looking towards further improvement with the JUST 2020 transformation programme,” he added. 

 “Jordanian universities are not far from appearing at the lists of top 500 universities developed by more prominent rankings such as Shanghai’s”, said Tweisi, adding that he “appreciates the challenges that our public universities are facing, but good governance will overcome them”.

AMMAN — The Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) on Monday urged the public to refrain from buying agricultural produce sold by street vendors on pickup trucks.

The municipality said that street vendors are unlicensed to sell food items and therefore  there is  no monitoring or control over the quality of their merchandise.

“It is illegal to sell food items such as fruits and vegetables to the public without obtaining a licence. In addition, selling agricultural produce whose origin is unidentified and didn’t get inspected jeopardises public health,” head of GAM department for the control of random selling, Ahmad Ebini, told The Jordan Times.

“Agricultural produce sold on pickup trucks is also exposed to heat and direct sunlight which causes it to perish much faster,” Ebini said.

“The municipality seizes and confiscates food items sold by street vendors and issues fine up to JD1,000,” Ebini noted.

He said that GAM and the Royal Rangers on Monday seized and confiscated six tonnes of potatoes in Qweismeh in east Amman.

The municipality, in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture’s office at the central market, destroyed the “rotten potatoes” which were unfit for human consumption.

However, consumers have different preferences. 

Um Karim, a mother-of-four , said that she occasionally buys vegetables from street pickup trucks.

“It is difficult for me to leave the house in the middle of the day sometimes to grab one or two kinds of vegetables, especially since the convenience store is a little far away from my residence. Therefore, I wait for the pickup truck to cross my street and call out for the driver,” Um Karim, who lives in Jabal Al Hussein, told The Jordan Times over the phone.

Almost all kinds of vegetables are sold behind pickup trucks, she said, noting that often vegetables are sold at a higher price.

“I know that they cheat on me with the prices but sometimes I am forced to buy from street vendors under certain conditions,” Um Karim said

Her neighbour Randa Kasim, a homemaker, said she prefers buying from a certain vendor who passes by her street every morning.

Kassim said that she decides what to cook in the morning and when the vendor passes she stops him and buys fresh vegetables.

“He knows me well and now gives special discounts.”  

AMMAN — Governor of Utah Gary Herbert and an accompanying business delegation on Sunday visited the King Hussein Business Park (KHBP), according to a KHBP statement.

The governor met with KHBP Chief Executive Officer Soud Al Soror, who briefed him about the park’s role in offering an integrated business environment to many leading local and international companies and start-ups. 

Soror also presented plans for future expansion of the KHBP Development Zone that aims to cover over 1.4 million square metres, and will combine office space, business facilities, medical and recreational facilities, multi-use facilities and residential buildings, the statement said.

Governor Herbert also visited Oasis 500 and looked at the company’s work and objectives in supporting pioneering entrepreneurial ideas by providing training and funding to their owners in the fields of communications, information technology, smart applications and digital media.

The visit concluded by a stop at Grow — building 23; an initiative that builds on His Majesty’s King Abdullah’s vision to support the pioneering and creative ideas of the Jordanian youth and transform them into tangible projects that serve the national economy. 

The governor also visited companies such as MadfooatCom for e-payments, Tamatem for electronic games and Iman1 the Jordanian Super Computer with extraordinary processing capabilities.

He commended the experiences of the young Jordanian entrepreneurs whose ideas and initiatives have been translated into leading Jordanian companies in the areas of economic technology, the statement concluded.

AMMAN — Minister of Transport Jamil Mujahed on Sunday participated in the the 30th Arab Transport Ministers Council meeting in Alexandria, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Monday.

The meeting, which was held at the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport, saw the attendance of representatives of Arab federations and organisations. Mujahed said that the meeting reviewed various transport strategies and ways to enhance joint cooperation between Arab countries. 

AMMAN — Minister of State for Investment Affairs Muhannad Shehadeh stressed on the Royal directives, which prioritises the development of local communities to raise the standards of living in Jordan, requiring focus on economic development to establish an advanced country, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Monday.

During a meeting of social and economical activities in Maan Governorate and its badias, Shehadeh said that the governorate is a “hidden national treasure yet to be discovered” with its natural resources, like solar power and mineral wealth, noting the importance of Maan through its strategic location  on the crossroads amid Syrian, Iraqi and Saudi Arabian markets.

AMMAN — A Russian charter plane carrying 227 tourists landed in King Hussein International Airport in Aqaba on Sunday, with the support of the Jordan Tourism Board (JTB), the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The trip came within JTB’s efforts to attract charter and budget aircraft from various countries flying directly to Aqaba. The tourists came for a seven-night stay in Aqaba, Petra and the Dead Sea.