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AMMAN — Jordan is keen on enhancing cooperation with Europe through focusing on mutual benefits necessary for the European and Arab regions to interact, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation and Minister of State for Economic Affairs Mohamad Al-Ississ has said. 

Al-Ississ made the remarks while representing Jordan at the Athens-hosted fourth EU-Arab World Summit, according to a ministry statement on Sunday.

The summit was held on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The minister highlighted the importance of the meeting in light of the “great challenges” the European and Arab regions are facing, including regional instability, conflicts and unrest, as well as high unemployment rates among youth and refugee and immigration problems.

Such issues require the coordination of all member countries, institutions and international banks and multilateral organisations in using effective tools to attract the necessary finances for achieving the goals of the strategic partnership between the two regions, he noted.

Jordan has shown resilience despite several repercussions that have resulted from regional unrest, including the Syrian crisis and its negative consequences on several sectors and the Treasury, as well as trade exchange, as a result of the closure of the border with Syria, Al-Ississ told participants.   

The minister referred to the humane commitment the Kingdom has shown in hosting refugees, urging donors to honour their pledges to help Amman alleviate the repercussions of the Syrian crisis.

Meanwhile, he stressed that Jordan enjoys a safe environment that makes it an important incubator for investments and businesses, despite the difficult geopolitical conditions in the Middle East.

The minister called on participants to explore investment opportunities in the Kingdom, which witnessed an advanced ranking in the Doing Business 2020 report.

Al-Ississ also spoke about the efforts of the two regions to secure sustainable energy supplies, saying that while Europe seeks to have more sustainable resources for renewable energy, Jordan has a surplus of electricity generation, which opens the door for the Kingdom to export power to Europe.

The summit was also an opportunity for Jordan to urge the international community to bear its responsibilities towards the Kingdom as a host for refugees and provide the necessary funds for the Jordan Response Plan, to help Amman continue playing its humanitarian role, the statement added. 

The EU-Arab World Summit is an international forum of economic and political dialogue between the EU and the Arab world, according to the summit’s website. 

“Since 2016, when the summit was established in cooperation with the Government of the Hellenic Republic, our goal has been to identify and promote the two regions’ common interests and values collectively, and single out priority areas for cooperation, taking into account regional and global challenges,” the website added.

The EU-Arab World Summit, the first forum held within European grounds to acknowledge the need for further enhancement of EU-Arab relations, has been organised for the past three years with the support of the Greek government, the European Parliament, the Arab League and the European Commission.

AMMAN — Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi on Sunday met his Maltese counterpart Carmelo Abela for talks that went over bilateral relations, ways of enhancing economic cooperation and the latest regional developments with a focus on the Palestinian cause. 

The two ministers highlighted the start of a process for the evaluation of bilateral relations to determine “promising” areas for the enhancement of cooperation in the economic, trade and tourism fields, according to a Foreign Ministry statement. 

Safadi and Abela also went over the latest regional developments with a focus on the Palestinian cause, the Syrian crisis and counterterrorism efforts. 

During the meeting, Safadi stressed the threat posed by unilateral Israeli measures, which are a breach of international law and undermine the possibility for a two-state solution. 

He added that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict can only be resolved through a two-state solution that guarantees the establishment of an independent Palestinian state along the June 4, 1967 lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital. 

The two sides addressed the latest developments in the Syrian crisis, with Safadi reaffirming Jordan’s “firm stance” on the importance of reaching a political solution that ensures Syria’s territorial unity and security and that is accepted by its people. 

Talks tackled the Kingdom’s role in combatting terrorism and extremist ideology, with the Maltese minister expressing appreciation for efforts led by His Majesty King Abdullah to enhance regional security and stability. 

Regarding the refugee crisis, Abela voiced his country’s appreciation for Jordan’s humanitarian role towards Syrian refugees. 

Safadi reaffirmed that the international community must bear the responsibility of addressing the consequences of the refugee crisis. 

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday reaffirmed his keenness to support young Jordanians’ innovative projects and to hear from them, voicing pride in their achievements.

Speaking at a meeting with young entrepreneurs from around Jordan at Al Husseiniya Palace, King Abdullah said young Jordanians’ energy and potential make each one of them a success story and a model to follow, according to a Royal Court statement. 

His Majesty stressed the important role of innovators in reducing poverty and unemployment, noting the potential of benefiting from their ideas and implementing them around Jordan.

The King also called for capitalising on the programmes offered by the government to support young entrepreneurs, the statement said. 

For their part, the young entrepreneurs at the meeting thanked His Majesty for his ongoing support for their projects and ideas, empowering them to build their future to serve society and create job opportunities, according to the statement.

They stressed that their positive engagement led them to start their own projects rather than wait for a job, adding that young Jordanians are qualified and capable of utilising the potential and opportunities before them.

The young innovators spoke about their projects, briefing His Majesty on their success stories in various sectors, including tourism, ICT, hospitality, manufacturing, entertainment, education and handicraft.

Royal Hashemite Court Chief Yousef Issawi, Adviser to His Majesty for Communication and Coordination Bisher Al Khasawneh, and Adviser to His Majesty for Policies and Media Kamal Al Nasser attended the meeting.

AMMAN — UNRWA employees ended a strike they started on Sunday following an agreement reached with the UN agency's management, mediated by the Foreign Ministry. 

Thousands of employees of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees went on strike on Sunday, shutting down schools and health centres.

Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and UNRWA Jordan Staff Union Chairman Riyad Zieghan announced the deal in a joint press conference, during which employees agreed to resume work on Monday.

Zieghan was quoted in a Foreign Ministry statement as saying that UNRWA employees will be granted pay raise under the deal ranging between JD70 to JD100 depending on rank, beginning in January.

Safadi said that the agreement took into consideration UNRWA's difficult economic conditions, stressing that the UN relief agency is a top priority for Jordan.

He also said that Jordan will continue working on securing the necessary financial support to UNRWA to bridge its budget deficit. 

Safadi highlighted that UNRWA is tied to the refugee cause, which is one of the most significant final-status issues and must be resolved in accordance with international legislative decisions, most notably UNGA Resolution 194 and the Arab Peace initiative, to guarantee the refugees’ rights of return and compensation.

“UNRWA’s humanitarian role is necessary and will be neither compromised nor negotiated,” Safadi said.

UNRWA Spokesperson Sami Mshasha told The Jordan Times earlier on Sunday that the strike was observed by around 7000 workers, warning of “serious consequences on UNRWA’s core services to 2.1 million Palestine refugees”.

The agency runs 169 schools in the Kingdom — where some 120,000 students are enrolled — as well as a faculty of science and educational arts, 25 primary healthcare centres and other services, according to AFP.

The agency provides vital schooling and medical services to some five million Palestinians in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the Gaza Strip and the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

In 2018, the United States suspended and later cut all funding for UNRWA, causing a financial crisis that threatened to see its schools and hospitals closed.

In June, UNRWA Commissioner General Pierre Krahenbuhl told a news conference in Amman that the agency faced an expected $211 million shortfall in funding for 2019, calling on donors to fill the gap.

AMMAN — High global rankings “have proven” the Kingdom's legislative success, in light of the government’s comprehensive reform programme.

Jordan advanced three positions in the 2019 Global Competitiveness Report, to be ranked 70th internationally in the competition indicator that included 141 countries, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Jordan also maintained its ranking of 49th among 180 countries on Transparency International’s annual Corruption Perceptions Index for the year 2018, Petra added.

The Kingdom's ranking on the UN Sustainable Development Goals indicator for 2019 also went up 10 ranks to reach 81st among 162 countries, in comparison with 91st in 2018, while on the Arab level, Jordan advanced one point to occupy the 6th position regionally behind Algeria, Tunisia, the UAE, Morocco and Bahrain.  

In ease of doing businesses, Jordan has earned a spot among the world’s top 20 most-improved economies, as well as a place among the world's top 10 improved nations in implementing business-climate-improving measures, according to the World Bank's (WB) Doing Bussiness 2020 study.

In its report, the WB said that Jordan has strengthened access to credit, as well as made paying taxes and resolving insolvency easier, according to Petra.

The Kingdom's labour market, financial system and market size have shown improvement, advancing from 93rd, 48th and 88th respectively to 84th, 33rd and 80th from 2009 to 2019.

The Kingdom's health sector also received a higher ranking according to the World Health Organisation’s 2019 reports, advancing to the 45th position in 2019, after remaining in the 78th place in 2018, Petra said.

AMMAN — With the olive picking and pressing season currently in full swing, activists warn of potential negative impacts of extraction processes on the environment, such as peat and olive mill wastewater.

Citizens living near olive oil pressing mills in Jerash and Irbid have been complaining about “unpleasant odours emanating from some of these presses, which cause respiratory sensitisation for many, as well as being an insect attraction”, Masoud Rawashdeh, a citizen residing near the Qiyam Pressing Factory, said.

Director of the Jordanian Farmers Union Mahmoud Oran told The Jordan Times over the phone that "70 per cent of the olive pressing factories, which amount to around 136, dispose of the peat leftover from the pressing improperly”.

He added: “For 30,000 tonnes of olives, that is about 12,000 tonnes of peat. We need an effective way to dispose of them in record time, as the environmental damage they do is serious.”

He stressed the importance of establishing peat plants, pointing out that "the success that these factories can achieve is great, especially in light of the high price of petroleum fuel, in addition to the impact they would have on reducing the negative effects of olive waste on the environment".

Mill wastewater, on the other hand, is described by farmer Dawoud Sheehan to have a "pungent smell and black colour, in addition to causing great environmental damage to groundwater and agricultural land because of the organic acids”.

At the onset of the olive picking and pressing season, the Ministry of Agriculture announced a slew of “serious punitive measures” for any factory that does not dispose of the mill water properly, threatening to shut down such factories and revoke their licences.

AMMAN — A local study has revealed that 44 per cent of Jordanians believe in the government's capability to implement the economic stimulus plan launched last month.

The public opinion poll, conducted by the University of Jordan’s Centre for Strategic Studies (CSS) from October 28 to October 30, surveyed Jordanians across the Kingdom, focusing on the government's plan to improve the national economy and investment climate.

About a third of Jordanians, according to the study, had heard about the stimulus package, while 69 per cent of the respondents had not.

When asked how they knew about the plan, 49 per cent of Jordanians said through TV networks, 30 per cent via social media platforms, 8 per cent through word of mouth and 7 per cent from news websites, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Jordan Television topped local stations, as it was the source of information for 43.4 per cent of respondents, followed by Roya TV at 33.4 per cent.

The poll showed that 51 per cent of surveyed Jordanians think that the government's decision to lower land registration and ownership transfer fees by 50 per cent would stimulate investment, while 59 per cent of the respondents expressed that exempting apartments of less than 150 square metres from fees would improve the housing sector.

The results also indicated that 63 per cent of Jordanians think that providing incentives to institutions and factories that employ Jordanians would help in reducing unemployment, while 61 per cent said that government incentives for successful institutions, factories and sectors would stimulate investment.

38 per cent of Jordanians said that the government would succeed in reviewing the role of independent bodies and assessing their feasibility, Petra added.

Regarding healthcare, 58 per cent said that the government will successfully issue a law that stipulates full health insurance coverage for all Jordanians in 2023, and 53 percent believe that the government will improve services. 

According to the opinion poll, 51 per cent of respondents said that the government will succeed in improving public schools' educational services and 45 per cent noted that the government will succeed in linking wages with performance evaluation of employees, while 42 per cent said that the government will succeed in revising the civil service system to achieve “justice” among all government employees.

AMMAN — The Mexican embassy in Amman held a reception on Sunday in honour of “Día De Los Muertos”, or the Day of the Dead, marking the commemorative event in the Kingdom.   

The Day of the Dead is a “long-standing Mexican tradition which holds great importance for the Mexican people and goes back to pre-Hispanic rituals,” an embassy statement read. 

“It’s really exciting. I’m very grateful for us to show our tradition and culture,” Mexican Consul Guadalupe Trad said. “It’s very important for us to transfer cultural traditions.”

The event showcased an altar decorated with photos, memorabilia and food to commemorate three individuals who have contributed to Mexican culture and passed away this year. The altar paid tribute to Francisco Toledo, who was described as a “tireless cultural promoter of numerous causes”, historian Miguel León-Portilla and singer José Rómulo Sosa Ortiz, better known as José José. 

Toledo was a prominent artist in Mexico and worked in a multitude of artistic formats. He was a winner of the National Prize for Science and Art in the area of fine arts. He also founded several cultural institutions, including the Museum of Contemporary Art of Oaxaco, according to the embassy. 

León-Portilla was a reputable and commonly cited source on Mexican culture and literature in the pre-Columbian and colonial eras among Mexican academia. He received many awards including a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1969, and later the Belisario Domínguez Medal of Honour, the highest award bestowed by the Mexican Senate. 

Ortiz  was known as “El Príncipe de la Canción”, or the prince of song. In the 1980s, he reached international prominence and secured several Grammy nominations, according the embassy. 

The event also featured cultural food, art and face painting. It saw many attendees, including diplomats. 

“We obviously want to expand our presence in the Middle East and particularly Jordan,” Ambassador Roberto Rodríguez-Hernández said. “We see Jordan as a good example of peace and security.” 

He noted that the event was a “good way” to develop relations. “No matter what our religion is and no matter what our culture is, we should work together for peace and development,” he said. 

Artist Suzanne Saoub contributed artwork and did face painting at the event. She said she became a part of the celebration after meeting the ambassador at an exhibition. Saoub studied in Spain and enjoys Mexican art, so she was “happy to volunteer”. 

“I was always curious about Mexican art, always had my eyes on Mexican art,” Saoub said. 

Eliu Almonte, an attendee at the event who had spent time in Mexico, explained that the face paint exemplifies La Catrina, a traditional Mexican icon. 

“It’s a really important symbol,” he said through a translator. 

He noted that this holiday signifies that “death is something that causes celebration rather than grief”.

AMMAN — Senate President Faisal Fayez on Sunday called on the international community to bear its legal and moral responsibilities to support the Palestinian people in establishing a sovereign, independent state on their national soil.

In a statement issued on behalf of the Upper House on the 102nd anniversary of the signing of the Balfour Declaration, Fayez said that the international community’s “silence” in light of the war crimes perpetrated against the Palestinian people is a “disgrace”, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The Israeli occupation of Palestine, the longest in the world, is no longer accepted, and the free world must work to expose Israeli practices against Palestinians, pressure Israel to accept the establishment of an independent Palestinian state and implement all relevant international resolutions, the Senate president added. 

He also referred to His Majesty King Abdullah’s efforts on all levels in defending Palestinian rights, maintaining the identity of Jerusalem and preserving Islamic and Christian holy sites in the city as part of the Hashemite Custodianship over these sanctuaries. 

Signed on November 2, 1917, the Balfour Declaration, according to Encyclopaedia Britannica, is a statement of British support for “the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people”. It was made in a letter from Arthur James Balfour, the British foreign secretary, to Lionel Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild (of Tring), a leader of British Jewry.

Also commemorating the anniversary, President of the Lower House Palestine Committee MP Yahya Saud called on all relevant regional and international institutions to continue their support to the Palestinians and their just cause, Petra reported.

Saud added that this “ominous declaration” has enabled Zionist gangs to practise the most heinous crimes of ethnic cleansing, forcible migration and destruction, noting that the dilemma of Palestinians is repeated every day due to the continuous Israeli practices that aim at Judaising Jerusalem. 

AMMAN — Around 400 Jordanian activists on Sunday evening staged a sit-in in front of the Prime Ministry to demand the release of two Jordanians held under Israeli administrative detention for over a month.

The protesters, coming from all parts of the Kingdom, carried banners calling on the government to exert its “utmost” efforts to secure the release of Hiba Labadi and Abdulrahman Meri, and all other Jordanians detained in Israeli prisons.

The sit-in was called for by the popular movement for the release of the two detainees. 

"We are here to protest the release of Labadi and Meri and call on the government to forcefully push for the release of all the detainees," said Lawyer and activist Noor Imam.

Their detention, Imam told The Jordan Times, “contradicts all forms of human rights and international conventions and Labadi’s detention in Israeli prisons is illegal”.

“Labadi and Meri are on administrative detention in Israel without any clear charges, and under this form of detention they could stay up to six months in prison without being charged, and the period could be renewed for an additional six months," the popular movement members told The Jordan Times in a recent interview.

Suhail Abualsameed said: “It is about time for the government to take a real step and obviously this is not the first or last time the Israeli government will detain Jordanian citizens in this manner.”

“It is time the government hears our loud voices and do something about it,” Abualsameed added.

Photographer Linda Khoury said Labadi should be released now “because there is no real reason for her to be detained”.

“I am here to make my voice heard and say Labadi and all the Jordanian prisoners need to be released from Israeli detention," Khoury told The Jordan Times. 

Meanwhile, the Foreign Ministry said over the weekend that Jordanian detainee Labadi was transferred to a health centre under prison administration for treatment, in response to the ministry’s demands. 

“Jordan holds Israel fully accountable for the lives of the two citizens until their safe return home,” the ministry said, adding that it will continue taking “all measures available” to ensure Labadi’s and Meri’s safety and quick release. 

The Jordanian ambassador to Tel Aviv arrived home on Wednesday in protest and to discuss Israel's prolonged detention of Labadi and Meri, who suffers from cancer. 

In a statement on Wednesday, the ministry said that the charge d'affaires at the Jordanian embassy in Israel paid a visit to Labadi to check on her well-being, adding that this was the fifth visit since her arrest.

The ministry has made continual efforts and intensive calls via diplomatic and political channels to urge Israel to release the detained Jordanians.

Last month, the ministry summoned the Israeli Chargé d’Affaires in the Kingdom to protest against the continued detention of Labadi and Meri, and handed him a letter demanding their immediate release.