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AMMAN — A delegation representing the board of directors of the Amman Chamber of Commerce (ACC) on Monday started a working visit to Turkey with the aim of enhancing economic ties.

ACC President Khalil Hajj Tawfiq said that the delegates, whose visit will last until Friday, are scheduled to meet their peers at the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (ICC) to have a firsthand look at its experiments in business development.

The delegates will also discuss the possibility of organising a Jordanian week in Istanbul during the first quarter of 2020 to acquaint Turkish investors with available opportunities in the Kingdom.

The ICC was founded in 1882 and includes some 420,000 member companies, including 627 Jordanian firms. Jordan’s exports to Turkey in 2018 amounted to JD58 million, compared with JD584 million in Turkish exports to the Kingdom. 

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah, the Supreme Commander of the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army, accompanied by HRH Crown Prince Hussein, visited Baqura on Monday.

King Abdullah was received by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Maj. Gen. Yousef Huneiti and a number of senior army officers, according to Royal Court statement.

His Majesty was briefed on the historical, geographic, and strategic importance of the area.

Also on Monday in a tweet, His Majesty said: “Jordan’s sovereignty over its lands is above all other considerations”. 

His Majesty on Sunday, during the opening of Parliament's fourth ordinary session, announced "Jordan's full sovereignty on every inch of Baqura and Al Ghamr areas" and the termination of the annexes on these areas in the peace treaty.

“Today, I also announce the expiration of the peace treaty annexes on Al Ghamr and Baqura and the imposition of our full sovereignty over every inch of those lands”, the King underscored.

In October 2018, His Majesty had announced the Kingdom's decision to terminate the annexes on the Baqura and Al Ghamr areas in the peace treaty with Israel by the end of their legal term in October  2019.

“Baqura and Al Ghamr have always been at the top of our priorities…our decision is to terminate the Baqura and Al Ghamr annexes from the [1994 Jordan-Israel] peace treaty out of our keenness to take all decisions that would serve Jordan and Jordanians,” the King said in a tweet on his official Twitter account at the time.

Under the 1994 Wadi Araba Peace Treaty with Israel, Jordan had to decide this year whether or not to renew an agreement that placed thousands of dunums in Baqura, in the northwestern corner of the Kingdom, and Al Ghamr, south of the Dead Sea, at the disposal of Israeli farmers, but the Kingdom decided to terminate the annexes and return the lands to Jordanian sovereignty.

AMMAN — Foreign Ministry Secretary General Ambassador Saja Majali on Monday received a copy of the credentials of the newly-appointed Canadian Ambassador to Jordan Donica Pottie.

During the meeting, Majali wished Pottie success in her new post and expressed hopes for further prosperity for Jordanian-Canadian ties, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

AMMAN — Minister of Water and Irrigation Raed Abul Saud on Monday called for activating the agreements between Jordan and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to share joint expertise on dealing with emergencies and floods, as well as to pass on the Kingdom’s expertise in water and sanitation management.

Abul Saud, during a meeting with head of the GCC Economic Affairs sector, Abdulmalik Al Sheikh, expressed the Kingdom’s keenness to advance cooperation with GCC countries, highlighting that the Kingdom has set an example in offering cooperation on water and sanitation projects and valuing the Gulf countries’ grants in this arena, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

Sheikh lauded the Kingdom’s efforts to ease the great burdens it is experiencing in various sectors. He added that the visit is intended to benefit from Jordan’s distinguished experience in addressing challenges in the fields of water and wastewater treatment and rationing water consumption. 

AMMAN — Prime Minister Omar Razzaz on Monday stressed that for years His Majesty King Abdullah has had a very clear stance on the termination of the two peace treaty annexes of Al Ghamr and Baqura. 

“There was never any room for doubt, stalling or discussion regarding the implementation of the decision on the two regions,” the premier said during Monday’s Cabinet session, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

“This is a glorious day for Jordan that brings joy to the hearts of its people,” Razzaz said, adding that “Jordan has retained complete and undiminished sovereignty over Baqura and Al Ghamr”.

Razzaz expressed the Kingdom’s pride in the achievement and congratulated His Majesty and the Jordanian people. 

Also during the session, the premier underlined the government’s commitment to implement the content of King Abdullah’s Speech from the Throne, especially in regards to improving living conditions.

Pointing to His Majesty’s directives on the matter, Razzaz said: “All ministries are directly concerned with the improvement of living conditions and the quality of services provided to citizens.”

The premier highlighted the “tangible” results of the recent economic rejuvenation measures launched by the government as one of the plan's four key components to translate His Majesty’s directives into action.  

“Measures taken under the real-estate sector stimulation bundle have doubled the number of transactions for the purchase and sale of apartments and lands over the past few days,” Razzaz said. 

Razzaz noted that the government will shortly be launching additional incentives as part of the economic programme, targeting youth employment as well as the enhancement of living conditions and services. 

Meanwhile, in a press conference held to explain the aftermath of retaking Baqura and Al Ghamr, Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said that Jordan exercised its right as dictated in the 1994 Wadi Araba Peace Treaty by choosing not to renew the two annexes, and it will continue to do so after recovering the two areas.

“Jordan is a country that respects its commitments to treaties and abides by international law, Safadi said.

“Jordan has reclaimed sovereignty over 820 dunums in Baqura and around 4,285 in Al Ghamr, and it will now be enforcing its regular customs, tax and border arrangements in the areas,” said the minister.

Jordan announced on the October 21 last year that it would not be renewing the two annexes of the treaty that put Baqura and Al Ghamr under a “special regime”. 

Safadi explained “special regime” to mean that the areas were accessed through a specific checkpoint and were not subject to Jordanian customs and tax laws.

“Now, the Israeli side has to go through the normal border crossing points,” he pointed out.

While a number of 15 to 20 workers previously accessed Baqura from Israel, the number has been reduced to four in the last few months, before the termination of the annexes came into effect.

“This is an indication that the Israeli side understands that the old arrangements are a thing of the past and that Jordan taking back the lands is now a reality,” said the minister, adding that “the soon to be elected Israeli government is also aware of this”.

The foreign minister refuted claims of contracts with the Israeli government pertaining to Baqura and Al Ghamr. 

Agricultural produce that was planted in Baqura, which is to be harvested in two to four months, will be returned to the appropriate Israeli farmers, Safadi said as they were planted before the termination of the annexes.

As for the share of water from the Jordan River, the arrangement is to remain as it was stated in the Wadi Araba Peace Treaty, with Jordan receiving 35 million cubic metres annually.

Safadi pointed out that using the word “lease” to describe the previous arrangement, which has become the dominant description in the media and on the street, is incorrect.

“A special regime is not the same as leasing these lands. A lease would require contracts between the two governments, which was not the case,” he added.

Reclaiming Al Ghamr and Baqura, “was His Majesty’s vision, as it was in line with Jordan’s best national interests”, Safadi said, reiterating that “Jordan will remain respectful of the peace treaty and any other commitments it has made”.

Safadi announced the return of Jordan’s ambassador to Israel after he had been recalled at the end of October in protest against the administrative detention of Hiba Labadi and Abdulrahman Meri, who have since been released.

Later in the day, Minister of State for Media Affairs Amjad Adaileh tweeted: “A historic and blessed day for Jordan, reflecting the unity between the people’s will and the wisdom of leadership, and their keenness to embed justice.  Ghamr and Baqura have always been and will always be Jordanian territory.”

AMMAN — President of the Jordan and Amman chambers of industry Fathi Jaghbir, on Monday announced the formation of a joint committee to discuss the issue of imposing income tax on industrial institutions registered within the public free zones that are designated for exporting products and services. 

The committee included representatives from the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply, the Jordan Investment Commission, the Sales and Income Tax Department and the Free Zones Company, according to a JCI statement.

Jaghbir, during a meeting with Sales and Income Tax Department Director General Hussam Abu Ali, highlighted the importance of public and private sector participation in the decision-making process. 

AMMAN — A delegation of permaculture experts from 35 countries on Monday visited the Sharhabeel Agricultural Research Station to learn more about Jordan’s experience in the field, “as a prelude to the transfer of modern technology to the station”.

“Jordan is one of the first countries in the Middle East to introduce permaculture, attracting donor countries and partners to implement permaculture and agricultural sustainability in both plant and animal production,” Director General of the National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC) Nizar Haddad said in a NARC statement.

Yahya Abu Sini, coordinator of the permaculture project at NARC, said that blueprints have been drafted for Sharhabeel and Ghor Al Safi ahead of their implementation later this year. 

AMMAN — “Amman the 28 country I have visted, Jordan is the best so far thanks to the hospitality of Jordanians,” Moroccan traveller Yasin Allam said on Monday. Allam, 33, who arrived in Jordan on September 21, said that he visited 27 African countries before Jordan during a trip that took him three years on his bicycle.

The traveller told the Jordan News Agency, Petra, that the Kingdom will be his launching point for Gulf and Asian countries. He also expressed hopes to take a photo with HRH Crown Prince Hussein and visit Jerusalem.

Allam’s sense of security in the Kingdom and Jordanian hospitality made him extend his stay in the country to explore more sites, he said. 

AMMAN — On the occasion of World Orphan’s Day, celebrated annually on the second Monday of November, SOS Children’s Village Jordan is strengthening efforts to raise funds to continue caring for orphans in Jordan by providing them with alternative family structures and social programmes.

SOS Children’s Villages International is an Austria-based NGO that has been operating for 70 years and now works in 136 countries.

In September of this year, the organisation launched the #iseeyou campaign to raise awareness that “everywhere, children are neglected, abandoned, abused, orphaned or displaced, but we don’t always see them”, according to its website.

“The first SOS Children’s Village was opened in 1949 in Imst in Austria by Hermann Gmeiner because after World War II, the number of abandoned children and orphans in the world had increased, and his idea spread around the world,” said Mohammad Shalaldeh, national director of SOS Children’s Village Jordan and Palestine, in an interview with The Jordan Times on Monday.

“We started working in Jordan in 1983,” he noted, adding that the first SOS Children’s Village in the Kingdom was officially opened in Amman in 1987 by His Majesty the late King Hussein and Her Majesty Queen Noor, and was followed by two further villages, one founded in Aqaba in 1992 and one in Irbid in 1999.

“We accept children who meet our criteria through the Ministry of Social Development,” the director said, noting that many of the children have either lost their parents or their families are unable to care for them.

Currently, the organisation cares for around 260 orphaned and vulnerable children at the three villages, which consist of different family houses in which substitute mothers care for 5 to 8 children who live like brothers and sisters, according to Shalaldeh.

“We also care about gender policies, child protection and violence prevention,” he added.

The organisation’s aim is to strengthen each individual child, develop their talents and integrate them into the local community, so they go to public schools, Shalaldeh said.

When a child is 13 or 14 years old, they move to one of several youth houses run by SOS in Jordan and live there until they are 18 years old. Shalaldeh highlighted that even after a child is no longer under the organisation’s direct care, they continue to receive support until they are fully independent, adding that until now, over 400 young people from the villages have graduated with university degrees.

In addition to the children’s villages, the organisation is also responsible, via community-based organisations in disadvantaged areas, for programmes that support Jordanian families at risk of abandoning their children and has also launched a programme that targets Syrian refugees, according to the director. 

AMMAN — As the Kingdom has only a few companies that print on paper cups, and they produce bulk quantities, a young entrepreneur found his own market niche in rolling out small batches of printed cups.

Ahmed Moghrabi, founder of a paper-cup production company in Maan, told The Jordan Times in a recent phone interview that he started his business to serve customers who want printed cups, but not exclusively in huge quantities. 

Ahmed was among several young entrepreneurs from around the Kingdom who met with His Majesty King Abdullah last week to discuss their projects. During the meeting, His Majesty reaffirmed his keenness to support young Jordanians’ innovative projects, heard from the entrepreneurs and voiced pride in their achievements. 

Ahmed expressed his appreciation for King Abdullah’s support, adding: “His Majesty encouraged us to pursue our goals and follow our ambitions.”

After the initial idea for his company was formed, Ahmed said that research led him to discover a way to print on cups one by one. He then bought a machine for printing on cardboard, and manipulated it to print on cups. 

Ahmed can produce as many cups as his customers need, whether in small or large quantities, he said. The cups, available in four different sizes, are fashioned with “high quality and reduced costs”, according to the founder. 

The printer is able to churn out 8,000 cups each hour, he said, noting that the company is currently exporting products to Saudi Arabia.

In regards to future vision for the company, Ahmed said he registered his business through the national self-employment programme Inhad in hopes to increase production lines, adding that if his business is accepted for a loan in the programme, he will be able to employ 38 people, increase exports and cover the Jordanian market’s need for printed cups.