Jordan-Germany connection

Relations between Jordan and Germany have improved tremendously since the deep chasm that separated them during World War II.

Both sides worked hard to get those relations back on track.

A cursory look at Jordan’s streets reveals the volume of goods coming from Germany. It is not only automobiles, but medical equipment, farming machines and even “Boss” suits and ties.

Many Jordanians sought employment and education in Germany. Physicians, engineers and craftsmen who graduated from German polytechnics and universities are well trained and offer excellent work.

The German University in Amman has also raised the bar and produces highly sought-after graduates. 

Most of them are engineers and high-level technicians who usually spend a year in Germany. During this period, students’ skills are refined and their sense of precision and dedication is sharpened.

More intriguing is the job carried out by the three German NGOs in Jordan: Friedrich Ebert Stifftung (FES), Friedrich Naumann Stifftung and Konrad Adenauer.

I have done, over the years, some research and attended workshops with all of them, but more so with FES, which, two weeks ago, celebrated its 30th anniversary in Jordan and Iraq.

The organisation focuses on issues that are very much in tune with Jordan’s political reform, environment, clean and renewable energy, economic reform, education and vocational training.

What I like about FES and the other two German NGOs is their clear mission and dedication.

The partnership between FES and the Royal Scientific Society has been successfully smooth and strong since 2002. During this period, almost 23 projects were implemented.

Cooperation with Germany brings added advantages to Jordan. We need to instil into the Jordanian labourers the ethics of Max Weber. People are working with a spirit, with a soul, I should say.

Each man is blessed and dignified with a mind and a passion. If we harness both to do work, we will be “working” and not “worked”.

We will be doing a fruitful job and not merely filling a vacuum in the cadre.

The unity between the two German parts (East and West) had been costly, but produced the best of the two. 

Chancellor Angela Markel came from the once less privileged part. Berlin is now a city big enough to absorb all Germans, of all creeds, backgrounds and religions.

I hope for strengthened relations with Germany.

The writer, a former Royal Court chief and deputy prime minister, is a member of  the Senate. He contributed this article to The Jordan Times.