Jordan opens opportunities for Filipino nurses, engineers — envoy

AMMAN — Jordan has opened employment opportunities for female Filipino nurses and professionals in the engineering field, the Philippine ambassador to the Kingdom has said.

Speaking to the media on Monday, Philippine Ambassador Akmad Sakkam said the number of Filipinos working in the Kingdom stands at 40,000, of which the majority are domestic workers, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

Despite that the annual Jordan-Philippine trade exchange lies below $20 million, the Philippines recently recorded one of the highest increases in Jordanian tourists travelling to the country in 2017 and 2018, the diplomat said.

Tourist arrivals from Jordan registered a 51 per cent increase, with 2,000 Jordanian tourists visiting the Philippines this year, in comparison with 1,000 during the same period in 2018, he added, noting the thousands of Filipinos who arrive in the Kingdom as part of their pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

The envoy also highlighted the two countries’ cooperation against terrorism including the Jordanian-Philippine coordination under the Aqaba Meetings to support a campaign countering violent extremism, especially on social media.

He also touched on the two countries’ cooperation in the field of interfaith dialogue.

Diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Jordan began on March 1, 1976, with the signing of an agreement between the Philippines’ former foreign affairs secretary Carlos Romulo and former Jordanian prime minister Zaid Rifai, during a two-day visit to Manila by His Majesty the late King Hussein and Her Majesty Queen Alia.

More recently, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte completed the first-ever state visit of a Philippine head of state to the Kingdom on September 8, 2018. During the visit, six cooperation agreements were signed by the two countries. His Majesty King Abdullah is also scheduled to visit the Philippines later this year in October, according to a recent embassy statement.

The Philippines’ population is estimated at 105 million, of which 10 million are Muslims who enjoy full rights, the envoy noted.