Prince of Wales’ scheduled visit to Jordan occasion to celebrate strong ties — envoy

AMMAN — The scheduled visit of Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, and the Duchess of Cornwall from March 21 to March 25 celebrates the strong bond between the UK and Jordan and the personal warmth between the two Royal families, said British Ambassador to Jordan Edward Oakden on Wednesday.

Speaking during a press conference held at the British embassy in Amman, Oakden said that the visit will focus on five areas: Youth employment, support for tourism, interfaith dialogue, women and girls' empowerment and supporting Jordan in hosting refugees.

"Their Royal Highnesses have made, either together or individually, visits over the years to Jordan," Oakden said, highlighting the regular visits of the Prince of Wales over the past 20 years, most recently in 2013 and 2015, in addition to his meetings with His Majesty King Abdullah in London. 

The ambassador said that the Prince of Wales is visiting the Kingdom based on the recommendation of the British government, and that "he was very happy to do so because it reflects on the importance of the UK-Jordanian relationship...."

During their time in the Kingdom, the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall are scheduled to visit an apprenticeship centre "where young Jordanians will be learning how to become top-quality engineers and will go through a series of international qualifications to work anywhere in the world", the envoy said.

The ambassador said that the initiative is a joint public-private sector effort aimed at providing practical training to young Jordanians in cooperation with the educational sector. 

The Duchess of Cornwall will meet women in Jordan seeking to develop professional skills through building businesses, creating jobs and supporting the most vulnerable women and girls in their communities, according to information shared at the press conference. 

"We ensure that women and girls are fully integrated into society and the jobs market and their potential is realised, and that is something the Duchess of Cornwall has done a lot both in the UK and internationally," the ambassador said, adding: "This is something we are very keen to highlight here, where the statistics are obviously quite challenging...." 

Their Royal Highnesses will also visit a number of organisations supporting refugees as well as Jordanian host communities, Oakden said.

"When I came here with the Prince of Wales in 2015, the refugee crisis was at its height, and the prince went to refugee camps," Oakden said.

He noted that it is a continuous priority for the Jordanian government to garner the support needed to maintain registered and unregistered refugees residing in the Kingdom, with this visit’s focus being on local host communities. 

They will also visit a number of cultural sites, which highlight Jordan as a tourist hub, and meet individuals working with the support of the Prince's Trust International to promote and develop their communities. 

Oakden said that Ahmad Abu Rumman, "who has been working to develop Salt as a tourist site and improve employment opportunities for young men and young women", will meet with the Prince of Wales, who "will be going to Salt to look at that work and to meet other members of the community".

Their Royal Highnesses will also visit religiously significant areas to participate in interfaith discussions with members of Jordanian religious communities, highlighting the diverse nature of Jordanian society and Kingdom’s leading role as a model for religious tolerance and coexistence in the region, the ambassador said.