Day: July 5, 2021

Categories
General

Jordan participates in ARABOSAI meetings in Qatar

President of the Audit Bureau, Asem Haddad, participated in the 62nd meeting of the Executive Council of the Arab Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (ARABOSAI), which kicked off in Qatar on Monday, with the participation of heads of the Supreme Audit Institutions of member states of the council.

President of the Qatari Audit Bureau, Bandar bin Mohammed Al Thani, expressed his satisfaction with the development of cooperation between the organization and relevant international parties.

He pointed out that the council, through this meeting, will consider a proposal to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO), which will provide an opportunity to exchange expertise in implementing the Arab organization’s programs related to sustainable development goals within the fields of education, culture and science.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Categories
General

Man nabbed on charges of killing brother in Mafraq

Police Monday arrested a man on charges of killing his own brother in Jordan’s northern governorate of Mafraq, according to the Public Security Directorate (PSD).

The Criminal Investigation Unit arrested the suspect who is described as “highly dangerous.” He is suspected to have shot and killed his brother, and injured three others and fled the scene, only to be arrested within 24 hours.

He is in custody pending investigations, the PSD added.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Categories
General

UK Minister emphasises ‘historic’ ties with Jordan

British Minister for the Middle East, James Cleverly, Monday reaffirmed the importance of the historic relationship between his country and Jordan on his first official visit to the country.

Cleverly met Foreign Ministry Secretary-General Yousef Bataineh to discuss regional issues, including the UK’s position on illegal Israeli settlements and a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, the British embassy said in a press release.

With the Syria conflict now in its 10th year, the Minister thanked Jordan for its generosity in hosting more than 600,000 Syrians who have fled the conflict, it said.

The Minister visited a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) community centre in Amman to see how UK aid is helping Jordan to care for its refugee population.

He also saw first-hand how UK support to the Jordanian National Aid Fund is helping vulnerable Jordanians whose lives have been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The support goes to those who have lost jobs and livelihoods in the informal sector, and households where women are the sole income-generators, the statement said.

“On my first visit to the Hashemite Kingdom, I discovered how the UK-Jordan partnership is growing in strength during this landmark centenary year. We celebrated long-standing cooperation on defence, regional security, and economic stability, as we build back better from the COVID-19 pandemic,” said the minister.

“The UK is a committed partner, providing assistance to Jordan as it generously hosts refugees fleeing regional conflicts. I saw how the UK is helping to strengthen Jordan’s social protection system, ensuring those most affected by the pandemic can get back on their feet,” he said.

Ahead of the COP26 Summit in the UK later this year, the Minister met some of Jordan’s renewable energy sector investors and representatives of companies with a high energy use. The group discussed how Jordan can transition to renewable energy as its primary source of electricity, with the Minister pressing companies to participate in the ‘Race to Zero’ initiative, the statement said.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Categories
Health

Italy reports 31 fatalities, 480 new COVID-19 infections

Italy on Monday announced that it recorded 31 deaths and 480 new infections with the Coronavirus in the last 24 hours.

Italian Minister of Health, Roberto Speranza, said that the pandemic is not over yet, as figures show that despite the vaccination of large numbers in the world, now infection with the virus is possible due to mutant such as the delta mutant, according to AKI, the official Italian news agency.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Categories
Health

Jordan sees 4 COVID-19 fatalities, 584 new cases: MoH

The Ministry of Health announced that 4 Covid-19 fatalities and 584 new cases were recorded in the Kingdom on Monday, bringing the death toll to 9,785 and the caseload to 753,776.

There are currently 6,776 active COVID-19 cases in Jordan, announced the media statement issued by the Prime Ministry and the Ministry of Health.

The statement added that the number of hospitalizations today stood at 64, while 59 patients have recovered and discharged, the statement noted.

Moreover, the number of Covid-19 patients still receiving treatment at hospitals countrywide has reached 473.

The statement also indicated that occupancy of the ICU bed capacity has hit 8%, 25%, and 7%, in the northern, central, and southern regions, respectively.

With regard to testing, 20,945 tests were conducted Monday, 2.79 percent of which were positive.

Since March, 2020, the total number of tests administered has increased to 7,967,956, the joint statement noted.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Categories
Health

UK reports drop in COVID fatalities

COVID-19 killed nine people in the UK Monday, a decline from Sunday’s 15, taking the death toll to 128,231, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said.

Some 27,330 people tested positive for the highly contagious respiratory disease across the kingdom, compared with 24,250 Sunday, as the caseload nears five million, the DHSC added.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Categories
Affairs

Jordan premier pledges support for local businesses, enterprises

Jordan’s Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh Monday visited local businesses and development enterprises in Ajloun and Jerash, and he vowed support for them through advertising their products.

Khasawneh started his tour in the northern governorate of Jerash, where he visited the “Jerash Women’s Association” that was established in 1971.

It is aimed at empowering and preparing women and the youth to join the workforce through teaching them handicrafts and in establishing their own small and medium-sized enterprises. Since its inception, it has contributed to employing more than 8,500 people, most of whom were women.

The Association also provides psychological and social support to the youth and raises the awareness of children, and it helps them acquire new skills.

Khasawneh praised the Association for its effort and highlighted the need to organise further awareness-raising sessions on preserving the environment and public facilities.

In Ajloun, Khasawneh visited the Royal Academy for Nature Conservation (RANC) that is specialised in training and building capacities on the environment conservation techniques and managing the programmes of socio-economic development.

RSCN Chairman Khaled Irani briefed the Premier on the services the Academy’s services and activities and its role in creating job opportunities and providing the market with qualified workers on environment conversation.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Categories
Affairs

Jordanian Dinar included in Buna payment system

The Jordanian Dinar has become the fourth Arab currency to join the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF)-owned Buna payment system platform, raising the total number of settlement currencies in Buna to six.

The Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) and the AMF announced Monday the inclusion of the Jordanian Dinar as a settlement currency in Buna which is a cross-border payment system and the signing of an agreement enabling Buna to execute cross-border payments in Jordanian Dinar.

In addition to the Jordanian Dinar, the Buna platform includes the UAE Dirham, the Saudi Riyal, the Egyptian Pound, the U.S. Dollar and the Euro.

The inclusion of the Jordanian Dinar comes as part of Buna’s effort to expand its growing list of Arab and International currencies and strengthen its position as the payment system of choice across the Arab world.

Governor of the CBJ Ziad Fariz said: “Including the Jordanian Dinar in Buna demonstrates the kingdom’s continuous support to strategic initiatives in the Arab world and clearly articulates the importance of the Jordanian Dinar as a key Arab currency for cross-border trade and remittance payments.”

Fariz added “the Central Bank of Jordan and the AMF share mutual interests in developing the financial regional infrastructure and create substantial added value to the Arab banking community and citizens.

“We look forward to seeing the Jordanian banks actively participating to increase the cross-border usage of JOD and benefit from the transformational value that Buna brings to the banking community and to the Arab economies.”

For his part, Director-General Abdulrahman Hamidy said: “We highly thank the Central Bank of Jordan for its strong belief in Buna’s vision to support the growth of the Arab economies, and the strategic role that we can play in serving the needs of the banking and financial sector in the region and beyond for an efficient multi-currency and risk-controlled, and secure payment system.

“The inclusion of the Jordanian Dinar to Buna’s list of settlement currencies is key in realizing Buna’s strategic objectives to facilitate trade and remittance activities across the Arab countries and with key global trade partners, support investment ties, and promote regional integration, by encouraging the usage of Arab currencies in cross-border payments and different economic activities.”

Buna, is a cross-border payment system owned by the Arab Monetary Fund, aiming to enable financial institutions and central banks in the Arab region and beyond to send and receive payments in local currencies as well as key international currencies in a safe, cost-effective, risk-controlled, and transparent environment.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Categories
Government Policy

Jordan FM, Kazakhstan counterpart talk ties

Jordan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ayman Safadi and Kazakhstan Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi Monday talked in Madrid about regional developments and strengthening cooperation.

The talks that took place on the sidelines of the Stockholm Initiative’s 4th ministerial meeting on disarmament and denuclearisation discussed the preparations underway for the 5th session of the Jordan-Kazakhstan joint committee that promotes trade, investment, development cooperation.

The top diplomats also discussed regional developments, chief of which is the Palestinian struggle and the need to realise the two-state solution as per the international law and pertinent resolutions.

They discussed Syria and the effort to materialise a political solution to the decades-long crisis, especially ahead of the Astana talks slated for July 7 – July 8, 2021, in which Jordan will participate in its capacity of an observer.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Categories
Government Policy

FM, Spanish counterpart discuss ties, regional crises

Deputy Premier and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ayman Safadi and Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation Arancha Gonzalez Laya Monday discussed enhancing bilateral relations and the Jordanian-European partnership, in addition to regional developments.

During the talks in Madrid, the two ministers reaffirmed the bilateral relations strategy and the two countries’ resolve to further deepen ties, which constantly witness progress “in a manner to serve the interests of the two countries and peoples.”

Safadi commended Madrid’s decision to put Jordan on the list of “green countries” to foster tourism and trade relations between the two countries in light of the EU’s recent move to lift COVID-19-related travel restrictions that were imposed on Jordan.

He stressed the importance of the existing bilateral cooperation with Spain in the various fields, stressing the need to continue working to enhance cooperation in economic, development, investment, trade and tourism fields.

The Spanish minister noted the “solid” Jordanian-Spanish relations, reiterating her country’s keen interest to further upgrade cooperation in all fields, and lauding Jordan’s robust role in efforts to achieve regional security and stability, and its humanitarian role in hosting refugees.

During the talks, the ministers reviewed developments in the region, foremost of which are the Palestinian issue, emphasising the need to find a “political horizon” to achieve a just and comprehensive peace.

Safadi asserted that the sole path to peace is the two-state solution and the establishment of an independent, sovereign Palestinian state with occupied East Jerusalem as its capital on the lines of June 4, 1967, in accordance with the international law and approved references.

He praised Spain’s unwavering support of the two-state solution, stressing the need for calm to be maintained in the occupied Palestinian lands and that Israel refrain from any escalatory measures that might lead to another explosion, including settlements, house demolitions and the eviction of Jerusalemites from their homes.

The ministers also reviewed efforts to reach a political solution in Syria based on Security Council Resolution 2254.

Safadi urged the international community to assume its responsibility towards the refugees and provide the necessary support to the countries and communities hosting them.

He also called for supporting the Iraqi government in its efforts to stabilize the country.

The ministers agreed to maintain the ongoing cooperation and coordination between their countries.

Source: Jordan News Agency