Expat conference to open July 28

AMMAN — Approximately 600 Jordanian expatriates are scheduled to convene at the Dead Sea at the end of this month to take part in a conference organised by the Foreign Ministry, an official said Tuesday.

Ministry Spokesperson Sabah Al Rafie said participants are coming from 60 countries across the world, with the majority of them from Gulf Arab states, as the largest number of Jordanian expatriates live and work there.

Official figures estimate the number of Jordanian expatriates at around 750,000.

Over 300,000 Jordanian professionals are based in Saudi Arabia, followed by the United Arab Emirates with nearly 200,000.

Organised under the slogan “Jordan brings us together,” the conference will discuss four main issues, including “politics”, with participants to be briefed on the political situation in Jordan, its security and challenges.

Economic issues, Jordanians abroad (successes, challenges and solutions) and the role of the country’s diplomatic missions will also be on the agenda of the July 28-30 conference, according to the ministry.

It is being held to enhance expatriates’ ties with their homeland, and discuss their main challenges in order to improve services provided to them through the Kingdom’s embassies, the organisers said.

Conference participants were selected to represent all segments of Jordanians living abroad, according to previous remarks by ministry officials.

Several committees were formed to arrange the conference, while a delegation from the ministry visited 14 countries in Europe, North America and other regions, and met with Jordanians there in preparation for the event, which seeks to come up with tangible results and initiatives to benefit Jordanians abroad.

The ministry also announced that journalists who are interested in covering the conference can register on the conference’s website (jec.gov.jo).

Registration will close at 3pm on Wednesday, the ministry said. 

On the sidelines of the conference, the Ministry of Public Sector Development said in a statement that it will launch a forum for Jordanian professionals working abroad, as part of a government initiative to establish a network to communicate with “able Jordanian professionals” and benefit from their expertise in the public sector.

The minister, Khleef Al Khawaldeh, said the forum will be held annually. Those interested in joining the forum can register online through www.mopsd.gov.jo/moltakayat.