Prince Hassan opens Aqaba Int’l Engineering Conference

AMMAN — The Aqaba International Engineering Conference kicked off under the theme “Safety, environment, energy and sustainability” on Wednesday, under the patronage of HRH Prince Hassan, chairman of the board of trustees of the Royal Scientific Society. 

In his virtual opening speech during the conference, organised by the Aqaba branch of the Jordan Engineers Association (JEA), Prince Hassan highlighted the importance for directing policies to meet humanitarian and environmental needs. Focusing on development efforts, the prince urged stakeholders to harness science and technology to more efficiently administrate human, natural and economic resources.

The prince added that the earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria demonstrated that managing various disasters requires a greater awareness of the range and patterns of potential crises, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

The earthquake does not only highlight the importance of sound, aseismic architecture, but also the need for an enhanced focus on geography, geology and geophysics, Prince Hassan said.

President of the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) Nayef Fayez, deputising for Prince Hassan in attending the event, encouraged conference participants to benefit from and apply useful information gained from the event.

Fayez said that the potential of engineers must be utilised when facing regional hardships, stressing ASEZA’s keenness to collaborate with the JEA to make Jordan a central reference for employing engineers in efficient emergency management.

In his address, JEA President Ahmad Zu’bi said that the conference “focuses on new and fair partnerships”, also noting that achieving development requires cooperation between countries, social sectors and individuals. 

Zu’bi also called for establishing a national programme for natural disaster management, with a specific focus on earthquakes, which would increase communities’ readiness to face sudden emergency situations.