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AMMAN — Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply Tareq Hammouri launched the Jordan Ireland Business Association (JIBA) at a reception held in the St Régis Hotel in Amman on Wednesday.

The launch of the JIBA follows the opening of the first Embassy of Ireland to Jordan in January of this year and the interest of both the Jordanian and the Irish governments in strengthening trading relationships between the two countries, according to a JIBA statement.

Over the coming years, the JIBA will work with the governments of Jordan and Ireland, and with the business communities in both countries to forge new trading relationships which will benefit both countries, the statement said.

The JIBA will convene bi-monthly meetings of Irish and Jordanian business representatives, said the statement, adding the association will also arrange visits by business delegations to Ireland and from Ireland to Jordan and facilitate the establishment of business to business relationships across key sectors.

 “This is a hugely important day for Ireland and for Jordan. By working with the Embassy of Ireland and the Irish Government state agencies such as Enterprise Ireland and An Bord Bia, the JIBA can make a hugely positive impact not just on Jordanian businesses but on the lives of Jordanian citizens,” Ireland’s Ambassador and JIBA Co-Chair Vincent O’Neill was quoted in the statement as saying.

“For the past 16 years, as Ireland Honorary Consul in Jordan, I have seen the development of many business partnerships between our two countries. With the establishment of the JIBA we can build on this progress and identify many new opportunities for advancing our business relationship and for deepening the excellent ties between our two countries,” said Jordanian businessman and JIBA Co-Chair Ramsey Khourey at the reception, the statement said.

AMMAN — The Embassy of the Netherlands in Jordan on Wednesday signed a $5 million agreement with the World Bank Group to support the Government of Jordan with a five-year reform plan to reignite growth and private sector development, attract new investment and create more jobs.

The agreement was signed by Barbara Joziasse, Ambassador of the Netherlands to Jordan, Saroj Kumar Jha, World Bank’s Mashreq regional director and Dalia Wahba, International Finance Corporation country director, according to a statement from the Dutch embassy

The Netherlands contributes to the World Bank’s Multi-Donor Trust Fund to support Jordan’s reform efforts together with other donors such as the United Kingdom, the statement said.

“The Netherlands is a close friend to Jordan and the Jordanian people. We want to contribute to the peace and prosperity of every person in Jordan, and therefore, we are supporting Jordan’s economic reforms that are dedicated to creating more jobs, supporting small businesses, investing in women and youth and much more, through our contribution to the Growth Multi-Donor Trust Fund,” Dutch Ambassador Barbara Joziasse was quoted in the statement saying.

The Netherlands, contribution aims to support the Government of Jordan’s vision in creating 30,000 additional jobs by 2020, investing in promoting and furthering youth’s and women’s inclusion in the labour market, promoting entrepreneurship, improving the business climate through realising reforms needed to simplify running a business, as well as expanding social safety nets for vulnerable people, the statement said.

"The World Bank Group is pleased to join hands with the Netherlands to support the government of Jordan’s efforts to promote growth and create more and better opportunities for the Jordanian people. The objective of the Growth Multi-Donor Trust Fund is to support the implementation of Jordan’s Five-Year Reform plan through the provision of analytics, technical assistance, and coordination support," Saroj Kumar Jha said in the statement.

Mohammad Al-Ississ, minister of planning and international cooperation and state minister for economic affairs of the government of Jordan, thanked the Netherlands “for their prompt response in donating $5 million”, according to the statement.

AMMAN — Prime Minister Omar Razzaz has issued an order for the withdrawal of 350 government surplus vehicles to cut down on expenses.

Minister of State for Prime Ministry Affairs Sami Daoud on Thursday said that this decision has been made following a series of field visits conducted by a tasked committee to assess the real need for government vehicles. 

The decision included cars with engine capacities exceeding 2,000cc, Daoud said, noting that the government is working to withdraw these cars to cut down on fuel expenses, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The field monitoring visits will continue to count all government vehicles and assess the need for them, he added, expecting the withdrawal of more cars to reduce the government’s surplus of vehicles. 

Meanwhile, the government on Wednesday directed a speeding up of the implementation of its previous decision on transferring all government-owned assets, excluding forest lands and waqf, to the State Treasury's ownership.

The Cabinet discussed  the previous decision taken on October 15, 2018, including the endorsement of registering all government-owned properties, excluding forest lands and waqf, under the name of the State Treasury, to be allocated according to Article 13/A of the 1974 State Property Law, Petra reported on Thursday.

Razzaz, during the meeting, instructed all government institutions to commit to the decision, tasking the Department of Land and Survey to speed up implementation, which prevents land expropriation for establishing projects, allocating these lands for government institutions according to their actual needs. 

AMMAN — The number of engineers in the Kingdom has reached 164,000, which the Jordanian Engineers Association (JEA) considers a very large number, indicating the oversaturation of engineering majors at Jordanian universities.

At present, there are an additional 50,000 to 60,000 engineering students around the Kingdom, JEA Secretary General Mohammad Abu Afifah told The Jordan Times on Thursday, noting that the association sent a memo to the Higher Education Minister Walid Maani on the subject.

In the memo, the JEA demanded increasing the averages required for admission into engineering majors as one of the means to control the large numbers of students and graduates, especially in light of the lesser opportunities available for them compared to other majors.

"There are around 10,000 Jordanian students who did not even achieve the necessary average to study engineering in the Kingdom, but are still studying engineering abroad, and the government's policies led to this oversaturation," Abu Afifah said, highlighting a shift in the higher education system.

Abu Afifah pointed out that Jordanians used to go to Gulf countries to work in engineering field and that currently, due to the economic conditions and wanting to rely on their own graduates, Gulf countries are not attracting as many engineers as before, and the same applies to Iraq, Syria, Yemen and other areas of conflict with limited opportunities.

He also said that “the government is the biggest bringer of engineering projects, but is unable to do so now, so engineers cannot find any opportunities, which means control is required from the level of transitioning from school to higher education”.

Therefore, the secretary general said, the JEA also demands to end bridge programmes that allow students graduated from community colleges to become engineers.

These are applied in countries that lack engineers, he said, but Jordan needs technicians and others who can act as “mediators” between engineers and untrained workers.

Abu Afifah said that education inputs fail to produce candidates with practical experience, as universities focus on academics.

He said that the JEA has presented its concerns to the education minister, the Higher Education Council and other concerned entities, with the aim of controlling the numbers of students and graduates all over the Kingdom.

AMMAN — The Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature (RSCN) on Wednesday announced the beginning of the autumn bird migration season, noting that migrating flocks started to arrive in the Kingdom at the end of August. 

The Jordan Valley is a key part of the Rift Valley-Red Sea Flyway that functions as a bridge that connects Europe, Africa and Asia, supporting a variety of unique habitats, in addition to being a primary pathway for millions of migratory birds that cross it annually, an RSCN statement said. 

A total of 37 varieties of migratory birds maintain flight by using rising air currents, annually travelling on the flyway. At least five of these species are globally endangered, including white and black storks, buzzards, eagles and vultures, according to the RSCN.

Migratory birds in the southern hemisphere use the Rift Valley-Red Sea Flyway to return to Europe and the northern hemisphere in the spring. On their journey, more than 1.5 million birds stop over in places like the Jordan Valley to rest and drink water.

The society added that the Jordan Valley represents a “bottleneck” for an array of bird populations that flock to the location via a number of paths, in addition to being a habitat for falcons and eagles. 

Jordan lies on one of the most vital bird migration paths in the world, through which birds from Europe pass during the spring and autumn migratory seasons, Director of the RSCN’s Bird Project Department Tariq Qaneer said in the statement. 

A total of 435 bird species have been identified in Jordan, more than 300 of which are migratory and pass through the Kingdom on their way from Europe to Africa and vice versa, he added.

Qaneer highlighted the spring migration of predatory birds through Jordan, as they make their way to mating areas in Europe, noting that their numbers could surpass the 1 million mark, including the Common Buzzard, the Honey Buzzard, the Steppe Eagle and the Eurasian Sparrowhawk. 

In a number of nature reserves, the RSCN provides designated areas for bird lovers to watch the creatures as they land for rest, food or to mate near water bodies, according to the statement.

AMMAN — The Court of Cassation has upheld a July State Security Court ruling sentencing two men to 15 years in prison each after convicting them of attempting to join terrorist groups and plotting attacks on police officers in September 2017.

The court declared the defendants, who were supporters of the Daesh extremist group, guilty of threatening to conduct terrorist activities against security officers and entities and handed them the maximum sentence.

Court papers said one of the defendants was already imprisoned for supporting the Daesh ideology in recent years.

When he was released from prison in 2016, the court continued, he met with the second defendant and convinced him to carry out subversive acts in the Kingdom.

"The defendant used all his means to spread the Daesh ideology and to convince the second defendant…," court transcripts said.

The defendants plotted to rob financial and industrial establishments to support their attacks in the Kingdom, court papers said.

"The defendants also decided to abduct security officers and SSC judges," the court papers said.

However, the two were arrested before being able to carry out any of their plans, the court documents said.

The defendants, through their lawyer, contested the verdict arguing that the SSC failed to present any solid evidence that could implicate them.

The lawyer also argued that the SSC relied on weak evidence and unreliable witnesses when issuing its verdict, according to court documents.

Meanwhile, the SSC's attorney general had asked the higher court to uphold the ruling stating that the court abided by the proper legal procedures when sentencing the defendant.

The higher court ruled that the SSC followed the proper procedures when sentencing the defendants and they deserved the verdict they received.

The Court of Cassation judges were Mohammad Ibrahim, Naji Zubi, Yassin Abdullat, Nayef Samarat and Saeed Mugheid.

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Wednesday visited the King Hussein Business Park (KHBP) and checked on the progress of its expansion project, aimed at meeting the rising demand for office space at the KHBP from local and international companies.

Occupancy at the KHBP is currently at 100 per cent.

King Abdullah toured the park, stressing the importance of the expansion to enable the KHBP, as a regional innovation hub, to attract more local and global companies, a Royal Court statement said.

The expansion will extend over an area of 40,000 square metres, and will include five buildings. Construction work is due to conclude in 2021, with the companies expected to occupy the new space potentially providing around 1,500 job opportunities.

His Majesty was briefed on the KHBP’s master plan, covering 3 million square metres of buildings, and business, health, multipurpose, and entertainment facilities, according to the statement.

The KHBP currently houses 75 local and international companies, over 150 start-ups, and 4,500 employees in IT, health, and media companies. The park is also home to Al Hussein Technical University, as well as a German Jordanian University building for a master’s programme.

At the KHBP, the King also visited start-ups by young innovative Jordanians incubated at the Royal Scientific Society’s iPARK, which has incubated over 200 start-ups providing nearly 2,000 job opportunities, the statement added.

iPARK Executive Chairman Omar Maharmeh said the incubator has trained 3,500 entrepreneurs, enabled innovators to register hundreds of patents locally and internationally, and provided intellectual property support services to over 20 national institutions.

During His Majesty’s visit to start-up Hidden Flights, Founder and CEO Hani Saleh provided a briefing on the company, founded in 2018, noting that it is developing an application to promote tourist attractions in Jordan by enabling tourists to tailor a trip to cater to their interests.

The King also listened to a briefing by Monther Fadel, business development manager at DARB start-up, on his company, which provides fully automated solar cleaning solutions through locally produced high performing systems and products, according to the Royal Court.

During a visit to the start-up Sager, its founder and CEO, Yousef Amoura, briefed His Majesty on the services offered by the company, which specialises in customisation and maintenance of unmanned aerial vehicle drones.

The company is working with the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army on the licensing framework for manufacturing and programming drone software.

During the King’s visit to the KHBP, Electronic Health Solutions company Hakeem launched its Health Data Analytics platform that curates real time data to provide better healthcare services to patients, interpret health patterns and predict future trends, according to the statement.

Royal Hashemite Court Chief Yousef Issawi, Adviser to His Majesty for Communication and Coordination Bisher Al Khasawneh, Adviser to His Majesty for Policy and Media Kamal Al Nasser, Minister of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship Mothanna Gharaibeh, Health Minister Saad Jaber, and Royal Medical Services Director Maj. Gen. Shawkat Tamimi accompanied the King on the visit.

AMMAN — The Cabinet on Wednesday reiterated Jordan’s rejection of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement regarding his intentions to annex Israeli settlements, built illegally on occupied Palestinian lands, and to impose Israeli authority over the West Bank’s Jordan Valley and the northern Dead Sea regions.

Prime Minister Omar Razzaz said that this announcement poses a “real threat” to the future of the peace process and will escalate regional conflict and violence, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

The premier noted that the international community has the responsibility of rejecting the announcement as a clear breach of international law and legislative decisions. 

Razzaz warned of the consequences of utilising “fateful” causes as a tool for electoral promotion, noting that such practices will have “major repercussions” on the future of peace, the security of the region and the safety of its people. 

Earlier in the day, Lower House Speaker Atef Tarawneh said that Netanyahu’s remarks prove the deep crisis facing the extremist right. 

Tarawneh, in a statement, added that Netanyahu makes “racist and aggressive” election statements to annex more lands to the occupation, which exacerbates regional crises, according to Petra. 

He added that the Lower House “utterly rejects all racist remarks by occupation leaders”, stressing that “dealing with the occupation after it has violated all relevant international resolutions requires a new path that jeopardises the peace treaty”. 

Peace has to be comprehensive and should reflect on the security and stability of the entire region, Tarawneh said, stressing that the Israeli premier’s pledge to annex the Jordan Valley and northern region of the Dead Sea if he wins the elections, highlights “a mind of insurgency”.

He added that Jordan always supports a peace that is based on the two-state solution, while the occupation force seeks more violence and tension and undermines, with all its racist practices, endeavours for reaching peace that can guarantee justice for an entire people. 

Also on Wednesday, the Arab Inter-Parliamentary Union (APU) issued a statement, in which Tarawneh, as its president, stressed that Netanyahu’s remarks highlight Israel’s “eagerness to commit more violations and attacks on the rights of Arabs and Muslims”, according to Petra. 

The president added that the APU holds Israel responsible for such “dangerous declarations” that can lead the entire region into a religious war that no one can bear its dangerous repercussions.

AMMAN — The Lower House on Wednesday met with the Jordan Teachers’ Association (JTA) in an effort to mediate towards an agreement that would end the teachers’ open strike, which crosses the one-week mark today.

In a statement following the meeting, the Lower House called on teachers to cease the strike and resort to dialogue with the various stakeholders in solving their problems, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

The chamber also urged the government to exert more efforts to improve the living conditions of Jordanians, including teachers. 

The House conveyed to teachers that reconsidering their strike does not constitute compromising their demands or rights, rather, adopting an alternative path to voicing their grievances through dialogue. 

The JTA announced an open strike on Saturday that began on Sunday, demanding a 50-per cent pay raise that the association says was promised by the government five years ago but was never implemented.

Several meetings were held with the government since, but the two sides failed to reach an agreement to suspend the strike, in which all teachers in the Kingdom’s public schools are taking part in.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Omar Razzaz hinted at possible legal measures that could be taken if teachers persisted with their open strike.

"There is a legal aspect to the strike; we believe in a strong state that is governed by the rule of law, and a strong society and institutions that abide by it. In the event the JTA insists on continuing with the strike, every action will have its consequence," Razzaz said in a televised interview in his first public remarks since the announcement of the strike.

AMMAN — The teachers' strike continued on Wednesday, entering its fourth day after a Monday meeting between the Jordan Teachers' Association (JTA) and the government failed to yield any results.

During the meeting, the government had proposed amending the by-law on teachers' rankings, whereby the salary increases with each rank, making the transition from one rank to the next easier and tying salaries to performance, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The government also proposed offering teachers who wish to move into the vocational branch a raise of 100 per cent instead of 50 per cent. 

The JTA rejected the government's suggestions and refused to suspend the strike, with teachers still going to work as usual but not giving any classes. 

On Wednesday,  a Facebook post by satirist Abdulmajid Al Majali said that those who describe the strike as being detrimental to students "have never complained about the overcrowded classrooms, the bad infrastructure of schools, the horrible food and the curricula that, when amended to go forward, lead us backwards".

The post continued to criticise the practices that try to put down the strike and mocked the government's suggestions to tie the raise to performance. 

“There is a legal aspect to the strike; we believe in a strong state that is governed by the rule of law, and a strong society and institutions that abide by it. In the event the [JTA] insists on continuing with the strike, every action will have its consequence," Prime Minister Omar Razzaz said on Tuesday night in a televised interview, making his first public remarks since the announcement of the strike.

This has driven some people, such as journalist Omar Ayasrah, to describe the strike as something more than an issue of a raise and a decent livelihood.

"Even though the way of dealing with teachers and their rights is sad, it shows our children one of the most sophisticated lessons on national education and showing love to one's country; a lesson of dignity, freedom, rights and democracy," he wrote. 

On Tuesday at one of the schools in Tabarbour area, teachers posted pictures of families who shared lunch together with the teachers at the school in support of the strike. 

Also on Tuesday, a live video which the JTA shared on its official Facebook page went viral, showing a man purportedly describing how he does not mind if a week goes by without his children receiving education as long as teachers get their raise and are able to afford simple life basics. 

Several teachers from around the Kingdom have been doing maintenance work to their schools, trying to convey a message that even while on strike, they have the students' best interests at heart.

The public opinion remains divided among those who support the strike and do not mind their children staying at home until everything is resolved, those who support the strike but are afraid for their children's education and those who reject the strike and find it unjustified. 

Later on Tuesday, a statement by the Jordan Strategy Forum (JSF) said that a 50 per cent pay-raise would require an additional JD120 million to JD140 million in annual government expenditure, noting that it is “impractical”. 

The JSF explained that in 2017, the value of teachers’ wages and raises stood at an approximate JD737.9 million, noting that this constituted 85 per cent of the Education Ministry’s total expenditure for that year.