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AMMAN — Director General of UNESCO Irina Bokova on Monday named Princess Sumaya a UNESCO Special Envoy for Science for Peace (2017-2019) in a ceremony at the organisation’s headquarters, the UNESCO said in a statement. 

Princess Sumaya has been appointed in the post “in recognition of her efforts to promote science as a power to bring countries together and contribute to positive changes in society, for her commitment to strengthening the development of scientific thinking in her native country and her dedication to the ideals and aims of the organisation”, the statement added. 

As a UNESCO special envoy, the Princess will support the work of the organisation in science diplomacy, notably during the forthcoming World Science Forum, which will take place in Jordan from November 7 to 11, the agency added. 

A graduate of the Courtauld Institute of Art, Princess Sumaya “is passionate about science and has been the President of the Royal Scientific Society of Jordan since 2006. She is also the deputy chair of the Higher Council for Science and Technology, a government body that advises Jordan on public policy issues relating to science and technology. Princess Sumaya has supported SESAME, the Synchroton-light for experimental science and applications in the Middle East, located in Allan, Jordan”, UNESCO said.

UNESCO special envoys are “exceptional personalities who serve as standard-bearers for the organisation. Through their professional activities and personal charisma, they help ensure that UNESCO’s message is heard worldwide”, according to the agency’s website. 

AMMAN — State Minister for Investment Affairs Mohannad Shehadeh on Monday launched the investment map for governorates, starting from Irbid, kicking off a road show to launch the map in the other governorates within two weeks. 

The map aims at showcasing small- and medium-sized development investment opportunities available in each governorate, where the map, which was prepared to utilise the points of strength in each governorate in terms of investment attractions, comprised 120 projects with a total value of JD302 million. 

The scheme mainly covers the industrial, service, tourist, healthcare and agricultural sectors, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The minister, during a meeting that was held at Irbid’s governor office said that choosing Irbid to start launching the map was because the northern town “is an incubator of education and youth”.

He added that Irbid also enjoys resources that can be utilised to achieve the investment vision in cooperation with economic partners.

The minister expected the projects to provide a total of 3,800 job opportunities, according to Petra.

Shehadeh, who is also the Jordan Investment Commission president, explained the breakdown of the projects. In the industrial sector, he said, there will be 54 projects with an estimated investment cost of JD96 million, while 23 projects are allocated for the service sector worth JD90 million.

The tourism sector will see 21 projects with an investment cost of JD51 million, while 14 projects have been allocated for the agricultural sector at a value of JD12 million and finally eight projects worth JD53 million have been designed for the healthcare sector.

AMMAN — Jordan was ranked 39th freest economy globally and 3rd regionally after the United Arab Emirates and Israel in the “Economic Freedom of the World [EFW]: 2017 Annual Report” published by the Canadian Fraser Institute last Thursday.

The Kingdom achieved a rating of 7.47 out of 10 in the EFW index, which ranks a total of 159 countries to analyse the impact of cross-country differences in economic freedom and freedom variations across three decades, according to the report, which was conducted in conjunction with the German Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom.

In an interview with The Jordan Times, economist Zayyan Zawaneh said such a high ranking “is a reflection of how Jordan has been following the path to the free economy since the fifties, when many other countries in the region shifted to socialist and Marxist systems”.

“However, over the past 20 years, this free economy has not been reflected positively on the situation of the Jordanian people and on the overall economy,” he continued, expressing hope for “other free economies such as the United States or Japan to stand by Jordan”.  

Economist Isam Qadamani outlined some obstacles facing economic freedom in Jordan. “If a businessperson wants to build a company in the Kingdom, he or she will have to face a series of bureaucratic procedures,” the economist said, adding that Jordan “needs to increase transparency in economic matters”.

“There is a reason why foreign investors are not coming to Jordan, and that is the need for easy and transparent procedures and [legislative] stability in an economy that changes every day,” he continued. 

Furthermore, the economist highlighted the issue of unemployment, noting that “the government needs to facilitate the work of private companies in order to solve this problem”.

The EFW index measures the degree to which national policies and institutions are supportive of economic freedom, highlighting personal choice, voluntary exchange, freedom to enter markets and compete and security of the person and privately owned property as the cornerstones of this freedom.

A total of 42 data points were used to construct the general summary index, and to measure the degree of economic freedom in five specific areas. 

In this regard, Jordan achieved 7.38 points out of 10 in the “size of the government” area, 4.76 in “legal system and property rights”, 9.6 in “sound money”, 7.63 in “freedom to trade internationally”, and 7.92 in “regulation”.

This year’s study also included an adjustment for gender disparity in order to “take into account the fact that in many nations, women are not legally accorded the same level of economic freedom as men,” according to the report. 

Jordan ranked 0.49 out of 1 in the gender disparity index, entering the list of countries with the lowest scores. 

The rating in gender disparity caused Jordan to go down 22 positions in the general ranking, becoming the 4th country most affected by this score after Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait. 

AMMAN — The Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) is scheduled to float two tenders this week for the construction of overpasses above the Sports City Circle and a passenger station in Sweileh under the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project, a municipal official said on Sunday.

The phases are estimated to cost JD25 million, the official said, underlining that the municipality will announce further details on the two tenders during the week.

Under the BRT project, two overpasses will be established above the Sports City Circle, which currently features a two-way bridge and a tunnel, according to the official, who underscored that the overpasses will be constructed while maintaining the existing circle, tunnel and bridge.

The first overpass will be dedicated to the traffic coming from Queen Rania Street towards the Martyr’s Memorial, while the second overpass will be built for traffic coming from Jamal Abdul Nasser Square (Interior Circle) towards Shmeisani.

“The stage of work on the Sports City Circle is one of the main pillars of the BRT project…, the intersection above the circle will link the project’s two phases, including Sweileh station and the phase that starts at the Sports City Circle and ends at Ras Al Ain,” the official told The Jordan Times.

The Sweileh passenger station is designed to be built on 20,000 square metres and to incubate six floors, two of which will be below-ground level, according to a statement from GAM, which also indicated that the station will be a “feeder service station” for the BRT.      

GAM is currently constructing an overpass at the Sahafeh tunnel on Queen Rania Street that will be for dedicated use of the BRT, GAM officials said in previous remarks, indicating that two stations will also be established under this phase.

The municipality said it expected all of the BRT project’s tenders to be floated by the end of the first quarter of next year.

The BRT project is part of the municipality’s solution to ease traffic congestion, according to GAM, which is also exploring the idea of an underground railway system.

The BRT project will have a capacity of 120 passengers per bus, serving almost 25km of Amman’s streets, according to GAM officials, who said the transport system should benefit Amman’s residents for at least the next 20 years.

Construction of the project started in 2010, but was halted and delayed several times due to technical reasons.

The project is scheduled to be operational by 2019 at the latest, according to GAM.

AMMAN — Islamist MP Dima Tahboub on Sunday dropped a complaint she had previously filed against an activist for allegedly republishing a photo of her riding a horse in front of a Daesh flag.

The Amman Third District MP told The Jordan Times that she dropped the charges against Rakan Hiasat, 26, after a member of his family visited her on Saturday and solved the issue in a tribal fashion.

Hiasat was arrested on Wednesday following a four-month-old slander and defamation complaint made by the deputy for reportedly publishing a photo of her on a horse carrying a sword in front of a Daesh flag.

The photo reportedly stated: “The occupation: The Rights Brigade to fight people who are not fasting during the holy month of Ramadan”.

The photo was referring to an alleged incident whereby authorities closed down a restaurant in Madaba and harassed some students for eating during the month of Ramadan, Tahboub explained.

She said that, at the time, she sent a letter thanking the interior minister for taking such action against the restaurant because “people need to respect the month of Ramadan”.

However, Tahboub added, she learnt later that “the restaurant had obtained the necessary licence and that the government procedure was not correct.”

The MP said that she filed the case against Hiasat and three other students almost four months ago after noticing that they “published a photo where they inserted my face on a body that was riding a black horse, carrying a sword and flags of Daesh terror groups flying behind me”.

“Hiasat had specifically accused me before of not standing for a moment of silence at a Lower House session to remember victims of a terrorist attack in a church in Egypt, calling it ‘terrorism under the Dome’,” she said, adding “of course this was not true and I sent him a private message with a photo to prove that I did stand with all the deputies”.

However, “he still would not stop attacking me and published the photo on his Facebook page, accusing me of supporting terrorism and Daesh,” she continued.

“I am against Daesh and I believe they are the worst devils in Jordan and the world. I am a peaceful deputy and against any act of violence,” Tahboub said.

She added that she had “no choice but to resort to law to stop him and the three other students from systematically attacking me and assassinating my image”.

“I do not mind criticism but what he and the others did is considered as character assassination. They have the right to criticise my performance but not to tarnish my image and reputation. It surely affected me and my family mentally and psychologically,” Tahboub added.

Meanwhile, Hiasat told The Jordan Times that his statements on Facebook were “not meant as a personal attack but rather as an expression of my disapproval of her stands on certain matters that I consider to be against our freedom of choice and expression”.

“I am not against her as a person. I do not know her. Our Constitution provides us with the right to express our opinion and I consider her stands on certain issues as depriving us from our freedoms as citizens,” Hiasat added.  

Regarding the issue related to Tahboub allegedly not standing up during the moment of silence, Hiasat, who described himself as an opposition party member, added that as soon as he noticed that “she published a video showing that she stood up, I immediately deleted my post”.

Hiasat’s lawyer Rami Oudtallah said that his client was freed on bail on Sunday and the case against him was dropped.

“We now have to wait for a decision by the general prosecutor who will either decide to pursue the case or just drop it,” Oudtallah told The Jordan Times.

AMMAN — Four Jordanian football referees on Sunday cancelled their flight to Pyongyang to participate in a match between North Korea and Malaysia as part of the Asian qualifiers.

The [Jordan] Football Association said that it had received a notice that the match was cancelled, due to the escalation of tensions between North Korea and foreign countries, which led referees Adham Makhadmeh, Ahmad Munis, Issa Amawi and Ahmad Faisal to cancel their flight, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The recommendation in assigning the four Jordanian referees was made upon a request from the Asian Football Confederation, according to Petra. 

AMMAN — Lower House public service and transportation committee, lead by MP Khaled Abu Hassan, on Sunday visited Queen Alia International Airport to inspect “the services bundle” offered by the Airport International Group (AIG), the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

MP Abu Hassan underlined several issues including parking fees, the check point process, baggage claim, and level of cleanliness. Abu Hassan commended the establishment of the special lanes to facilitate entry for travellers who are potential investors.

Kjeld Binger, CEO of AIG, who is the Jordanian consortium responsible for the rehabilitation, expansion and operation of the airport, emphasised that the airport is ranked first on a regional level and third internationally in the category of airports with the capacity of 5 to 15 million travellers.

Brigadier General Maen Jarrah, director of airport security and protection, said: “The security services deals with approximately 62 thousand people on a daily basis, noting that the inspection process with its three stages takes only about 10 minutes.” 

AMMAN — Jordan on Sunday reiterated that it would maintain its humanitarian role in protecting and passing food and drug aid to Rukban camp for displaced Syrians, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

State Minister for Media Affairs Mohammad Momani brushed off "ungrounded" claims about Jordan delaying aid, describing the claims as "totally false".

Momani said that such "fallacious" news aim to push Jordan to allow the entry of Syrian refugees currently at the camp, which Jordan has rejected, except for certain cases for humane reasons. 

He stressed that Jordan remains in the lead of humanitarian action, bearing the responsibility of delivering aid to the camp that is located inside Syria, which means that the international organisations are also able to deliver the aid from within the Syrian land.

The minister, who is also the government spokesperson, said that Jordan has established a service centre and guarded the aid delivery process and human workers.

He said “a country like Jordan has hosted 1.5 million Syrian refugees over the past seven years, something that has not been done by large countries or even continents”.

“Jordan would never delay the delivery of aid to the refugees across the Jordanian borders; however, it refuses any measure that would jeopardise its security and stability,” said the minister.

He stressed that the Kingdom continuously coordinates with the international organisations that provide aid and services to the refugees.

The minister warned against reducing the support to refugees as it would add more burdens on the host countries.

AMMAN — A new convoy of approximately 20 trucks of Jordanian industrial exports is expected to cross the Karameh-Turaibil border crossing to Iraq today, head of the Amman Chamber of Industry, Ziad Homsi, told The Jordan Times on Sunday.

 Jordan is resuming the industrial exports to Iraq one month after the reopening of the border crossing between the two countries after the Iraqi forces gained control of the main highway to Baghdad from Daesh militants, following a two-year closure due to security conditions.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Hani Mulki expressed his hope that the reopening of the border would be an opportunity to promote bilateral trade and investment.

He called on the private sector in both countries to “cooperate and benefit from this positive step”.

President of the Jordanian Businessmen Association Hamdi Tabbaa stressed that this would contribute to reversing the recession, pointing out that the Iraqi market is a “major destination for Jordanian exports and a priority for Jordanian industrialists and businessmen”.

“However, we are still facing the customs duty that Iraq has implemented to all exports to the country,” Homsi said, noting that the Amman Chamber of Industry is “hoping the Iraqi government would respect the bilateral agreement signed in 2009 allowing Jordanian products in the country without customs duty”.

When asked about the chamber’s expectations regarding the future exports, Homsi stated that “the numbers will increase day by day with or without the customs duty”.

“The value of the exports to Iraq per year stands at JD400 million at the moment, but we are hoping to reach the value prior to the closing of the border, setting the objective at JD900  million,” he said.

The agricultural exports to Iraq were resumed earlier this month, with a total of 3,200 tonnes of fruits exported to the Iraqi market by September 27, according to the Ministry of Agriculture.

Before the border closure, a total of 100 refrigerated trucks carrying 2,000 tonnes of fruits and vegetables were travelling daily to the neighbouring country according to agriculture sector representatives, who added that the border closure resulted in a drop in fruit and vegetable exports by 70 per cent.

 Ministry of Agriculture Spokesperson Nimer Haddadin said in recent remarks that he expects the amount of exports to increase soon. “The fact that 113 refrigerated trucks transported agricultural exports to the Iraqi border is actually a very good indicator that the volume of agricultural exports will return to its previous levels gradually,” he highlighted.

AMMAN — Individuals' debts, including loans for consumption and housing purposes, increased by JD1 billion in 2016 without any raise in salaries, President of the Amman Chamber of Commerce (ACC) Issa Murad said on Sunday.

He said that the growing debts have become a source of worry to the national economy  as such a situation negatively reflects on the purchasing power of citizens and the outlook of the commercial sector, calling for an official intervention to address the issue, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Murad, who is also a senator, warned against an increase in the debt ratio, which currently stands at 70 per cent of citizens' annual income.

The total value of bad cheques is shocking, he said, noting that it stood at JD1.1 billion in the first eight months of the year, JD651 million of which represented bounced cheques for insufficient account, the ACC president said, stressing that the Jordanian economy cannot cope with such figures. 

Murad also referred to the market recession that started more than two years ago and has adversely affected the commercial activity in the Kingdom, in addition to the stumbling companies that can no longer honour their contracts.

He called on the government to alleviate some burdens off the shoulder of the commercial sector to help it overcome the challenges imposed by the low purchasing power of consumers, stressing that the sector "badly needs" flexible measures to reduce its financial burdens. He did not name specific demands.

The president also called on the government to take new procedures to stimulate the real estate sector, which, he said, is going through a big recession, by reconsidering the fees of ownership transfer.