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AMMAN — The Ministry of Labour is expected to announce the addition of new professions to the list of those strictly reserved for Jordanians.

There are currently 19 professions closed for guest labour. Additionally, there are set quotas for foreign labour in open professions, including 40 per cent in gas stations.

"The Ministry of Labour will announce the professions in the coming days," Labour Ministry Spokesperson Mohammed Khatib said.

The ministry official said the aim of this decision is to boost Jordanian's enrolment in the labour market.

"Many Jordanians have complained in the past that foreign labourers are taking many jobs, depriving them of their right to work and earn a living," Khatib told The Jordan Times.

"We are constantly inspecting establishments and businesses to ensure that the foreign workers are abiding by their work permits and recently we caught 120 who were in violation of the 2019 Work Permits for Non-Jordanians Regulations," Khatib explained.

The ministry spokesperson said the violators have to pay JD3,000 each in fines and "depending on the case, they can either rectify their situation or get deported from the country".

Last month, Labour Minister Nidal Bataineh announced that the new regulations aim to rectify the status of illegal labourers in the Kingdom.

The minister said new regulations stop the issuance of work permits for guest workers in professions that only accept Jordanians.

Bataineh said labourers found in violation of the new law will "only be given two months to rectify their situation", stressing that "no grace period will be given beyond that deadline".

The minister warned that illegal labourers who do not rectify their situation will be deported immediately and fined.

The minister added that those who do not wish to rectify their situation "are welcome to leave the Kingdom during the two-month period without paying fines or additional fees".

Officials have estimated that approximately 600,000 of the 900,000 foreign labourers in the Kingdom do not have valid working permits.

AMMAN — Jordan Society of Tourism and Travel Agents (JSTA) has alerted citizens to be on guard against “phantom” tourism offices.

A committee composed of relevant experts to solve the problems between service recipients and travel agencies reviewed 820 complaints that JSTA received before June 10, Head of the JSTA Mohammad Samih told the Jordan Times on Tuesday. 

He added that periodical meetings have been held to deal with customers’ queries and grievances.

Several unlicensed tourism agencies have obtained money fraudulently, prompting a control and inspection unit at the JSTA to intensify its oversight tours, he said.

“The law contains an explicit condition that anyone who works in the travel and tourism agencies sector should be affiliated with the JSTA; any operation that does not follow this stipulation is considered in violation of the law and should be referred to the prosecutor general,” Samih added.

Since the beginning of 2019, a total of 213 violators have been caught, 30 warnings were issued and 27 illegal agencies were closed, he said. Meanwhile, 669 travel offices renewed their licences and 35 new offices joined the JSTA during the same period, according to Samih.

The tourism sector is tied to the Kingdom’s reputation; consequently it must be ensured that all licences are renewed properly, the rights of concerned parties are guaranteed and a certain system is being followed, Samih expressed.

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Monday honoured a number of leading Islamic scholars participating in the 18th General Conference of the Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought, in appreciation for their efforts to defend Islamic causes.

At the honouring ceremony, held at Al Husseiniya Palace and attended by His Royal Highness Prince Ghazi Bin Muhammad, His Majesty’s chief adviser for religious and cultural affairs and personal envoy, and chairman of the board of trustees of the Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought, King Abdullah bestowed royal medals on a number of scholars and distributed Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought fellowship certificates to others, according to a Royal Court statement.

His Majesty bestowed the King Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein Order for Distinction of the First Degree on Abdul Kareem Khalifa, former president of the Jordan Academy of Arabic, in appreciation for his academic writings and his service to the Arabic language.

The King also gave the King Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein Order for Distinction of the First Degree to Al Azhar scholar Osama Al Azhari, in recognition of his contributions to Islamic thought, the statement said.

Omar Abboud, the director of the Institute for Interreligious Dialogue in Buenos Aires, received the King Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein Order for Distinction of the First Degree, in appreciation for his role in promoting interfaith dialogue.

Hamza Yusuf Hanson, co-founder and director of Zaytuna College in the US, also received the King Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein Order for Distinction of the First Degree for his contributions to Islamic thought.

The King distributed institute fellowship certificates to Mahmoud Sidqi Al Habbash, the supreme judge of Palestine, Grand Mufti of Chechnya Salah Mezhiev and Mohammad Al Bouti, president of the Union of Muslim Scholars of the Levant, according to the statement.

In remarks at the ceremony on behalf of the scholars participating in the 18th General Conference of the Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought, Al Azhar Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa thanked His Majesty for hosting the conference, commending the institute’s role in promoting peace, the statement said.

Founded in 1980, the Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought includes 120 scholars and thought leaders from over 36 countries around the world.

Seventy scholars from 30 Arab, Muslim and foreign countries, representing various schools of Islamic jurisprudence, are participating in the institute’s three-day conference.

Royal Hashemite Court Chief Yousef Issawi and Adviser to His Majesty for Communication and Coordination Bisher Al Khasawneh attended Monday’s ceremony.

AMMAN — The IT sector’s programming and mobile application divisions each generated more than $189 million in profits during 2018, according to a study published by the Information and Communications Technology Association (INT@J).

The two subsectors are the most profitable in the Kingdom’s IT sector, encompassing Jordanian-made mobile applications, websites and games.

The sector in total made $2.2 billion last year, marking a 4 per cent increase when compared to 2017, the study said. 

“This is why coming up with inventions that hold a Jordanian patent is important, not only for economic growth but also for the benefit of young Jordanians who need a push to come up with something amazing,” said Layla Awad, a former INT@J trainer, in an interview with The Jordan Times.

She added: “It comes as a surprise to some people that some of our young men and women have world-class talents, working with big names such as Google and Facebook.”

Sales of computer, mobile, and telecommunication infrastructure licenses generated $137 million, making it the third most profitable subsector, the study said.

“The great thing about these results is that they indicate that not only the talents but also the infrastructure and the logistics of the sector are improving, creating an altogether great IT future for Jordan,” Mohsen Ibrahim, a former youth programme director at the Ministry Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship, told The Jordan Times in a recent interview.

AMMAN — The government is ready to enhance cooperation opportunities between Jordan and Qatar, Prime Minister Omar Razzaz said, stressing the importance of benefitting from the joint expertise of monitoring agencies in both countries. 

Meeting with the President of the Qatari State Audit Bureau Sheikh Bandar bin Mohamed bin Saud Al Thani, Razzaz referred to the government’s keenness to boost the autonomy of the Audit Bureau to enhance its role in monitoring and maintaining public money, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

During the meeting, attended by Minister of State for Prime Ministry Affairs Sami Daoud and Audit Bureau President Abed Kharabsheh, the premier said that the government is also keen to expand the authorities of the bureau to include administrative monitoring. 

Sheikh Bandar said both countries’ bureaus have made great strides in the fields of cooperation, training and exchanging knowledge, and voiced the aspiration to sign a memorandum of understating to further enhance cooperation in performance assessment, risk management and data analysis. 

Daoud said the culture of performance assessment has been enhanced at several institutions and departments that refer to the Audit Bureau to rectify violations, according to Petra.

Kharabsheh stated the bureau wants to boost cooperation and partnership with monitoring authorities in Arab countries to set a clear strategy to refine the work of these agencies and empower them to better tackle challenges. 

In a separate meeting, Senate President Faisal Fayez and Sheikh Bandar stressed the “deep-rooted” relations between Amman and Doha and ways to develop them on all levels, especially in the economic and investment fields. 

Fayez highlighted the important role of audit bureaus in preserving public money, referring to the Jordanian-Qatari cooperation in this field through exchanging expertise and adopting the best international practices, according to Petra.

Sheikh Bandar said his visit to the Kingdom is part of enhancing cooperation and benefitting from the Audit Bureau’s expertise. 

Also on Monday, Lower House Speaker Atef Tarawneh met with Sheikh Bandar and highlighted the importance of the independence of audit bureaus to keep them free of constraints. 

AMMAN — HRH Prince Hashim, His Majesty’s chief Royal councillor, on Monday attended the inauguration ceremony of the first international military tournament of tent pegging at the Public Security Department’s (PSD) Knights group command in Zarqa. 

Col. Mashhour Farajat, commander of the Knights group, said that the command has implemented all necessary preparations to guarantee a successful hosting of the tournament that sees the participation of the UK, Pakistan, Egypt, Syria, Oman, Qatar and Iraq, in addition to Jordan. 

Farajat said that during this three-day event, military teams compete on five patterns in the tent pegging, which are: Picking up tent pegs with spears, swords, relay, rings and lemon cutting, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

He noted that this tournament, which is hosted by the PSD in cooperation with the Royal Jordanian Equestrian Federation and the International Tent Pegging Federation (ITPF), is the “first of its kind” to be organised by the federation.   

PSD Director Maj. Gen. Fadel Hmoud, ITPF President Sheikh Mohammed Fairouz, Zarqa Governor Muhammad Smiran and senior PSD officers attended the inauguration ceremony, according to Petra.

The federation is a non-profit organisation that was established in October 2013 in Oman with the aim of propagating the tent pegging sport worldwide, according to its website. 

AMMAN — HRH Princess Basma Bint Ali on Monday opened the Ain Al Basha charity organisation’s “safe playground for children”. Ain Al Basha district governor, Hakim Khreisha, said the inauguration of the playground was a “humanitarian act”, calling for efforts to protect children by offering safe play areas, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

Director of development at Ain Al Basha, Abeer Arabiyatt, said charities were the “right hand” of the Ministry of Social Development in light of the services they provide across the Kingdom.

Director of the charity, Abdul Hamid Abu Hatab, said that the playground was built for  JD60,000, which was raised with the help of grants, loans and the charity’s fund, noting that it has also created three jobs. The playground comprises 20 pieces of equipment for two- to 12-year -old kids. 

AMMAN — Interior Minister Salameh Hammad and Dutch Ambassador to Jordan Barbara Joziasse on Monday discussed means to enhance bilateral cooperation, mainly on the economic, political, security and police levels.

Hammad reviewed challenges facing the Kingdom, specifically in the economic field, in light of the scarcity of resources, noting that Jordan has hosted several refugee influxes that exhausted its vital sectors, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The minister praised the Dutch government’s support to Jordan, mainly in offering scholarships for ministry employees to receive their master’s degrees. For her part, Joziasse commended the level of stability and security prevailing in the Kingdom amidst regional turmoil, stressing her country’s keenness to continue its partnership with the Kingdom. 

AMMAN — The Public Security Department (PSD) on Monday announced changes to the working hours of the Jordan Valley Border Crossing on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Passenger movement through the crossing on Tuesday will be between 7am and 12 midnight, while the border crossing will be closed on Wednesday, the PSD said, as reported by the Jordan News Agency, Petra. Cargo movement through the border crossing will be closed on both Tuesday and Wednesday.

AMMAN — The Jordan Fibre Optics Company on Monday announced the start of its official operations with a capital of JD40 million after completing all licensing procedures.

The purpose of the company, the “first of its kind” in the region, is to provide new infrastructure by installing an over-ground fibre optic network in the service areas of the Jordan Electric Power Company (JEPCO), the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

During a press conference to announce the launch, Telecommunication Regulatory Commission Chief Commissioner Ghazi Jbour highlighted the importance of licensing the company, which will contribute to increasing the reach of high-speed Internet services.

JEPCO Chairman Issam Bideir said that the company will build a fiber optic grid that can cover all JEPCO areas to provide advanced services. JEPCO owns 51 per cent of the fibre company and Umniah owns 49 per cent, Petra added.