Day: October 2, 2022

A total of 75,330 tourists visited Petra in September 2022 compared to 25,721 visitors during the same month of last year, constituting a 193 percent increase as the tourist season begins in areas of mild temperature in the Kingdom.

According to the Petra Development and Tourism Region Authority (PDTRA) statistics issued Sunday, of the tourists visiting the red-rose city last month, 66,061 were of foreign nationalities and 9,269 were Jordanian and Arab.

Suliman Farajat, Chairman of the Board of Commissioners of the PDTRA, said that Petra saw a lively tourism movement in September especially as the tourist season kicks off and temperatures in the southern region dip to become warm and pleasant.

Farajat predicted a further increase in the number of visitors over the upcoming days, noting that this would make up for the losses the tourism sector sustained following the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing lockdowns.

Source: Jordan News Agency

The Kingdom’s capital, and global cities including New York, Singapore, Istanbul, Rome and Lisbon, ranked 14th on the United Nations 2022 Local Online Service Index (LOSI) technology criteria.

According to a press release on Sunday, the 2022 LOSI, which falls under the E-Government biannual survey, comprises 86 indicators relating to five criteria: institutional framework, content provision, services provision, participation and engagement, and technology. Amman scored 0.5581 on the five criteria in 2022, compared to a score of 0.3875 in 2020.

The progress was made thanks to the Greater Amman Municipality’s efforts to improve online services provided to citizens and to keep pace with technological developments in the era of digital transformation.

Source: Jordan News Agency

The First Vice President of Board of Directors of Jordan Chamber of Commerce (JCC), Jamal Rifai, stressed the importance of Kurdistan delegation’s visit to Jordan to face economic difficulties.

This future action requires private sector’s engagement to take the initiative to bridge the “deep gap” and strengthen economic relations, which would contribute to developing joint trade and achieving economic integration, he noted.

Speaking at a meeting with Kurdistan economic delegation on Sunday, Rifai said discussions should constitute a platform to support and develop economic, investment and commercial cooperation between Jordan and Iraq and the region.

Jordanian economic community believes in the importance of partnership to achieve common interests, especially in light of international economic developments, in the areas of food security, energy, agriculture, information technology, manufacturing, logistics and tourism, he pointed out.

Jordan, he noted, is working “hard” to develop policies and legislation regulating economic and business environment, to attract investments, which cover strategic sectors, in infrastructure, industry, energy, tourism, information technology and agriculture, within Jordan’s Economic Modernization Vision.

Trade and service sector is interested in strengthening its commercial and investment relations with Kurdistan region and building on successes made over the past years, as a number of Jordanian companies launched investments there, he noted.

Expressing hope to strengthen and expand relations, he called on investing the available opportunities and priviliges and establish partnerships between the two sides’ business owners.

Source: Jordan News Agency

A Jordanian delegation, headed by Chairman of the Jordan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC) Khaled Toukan participated in the 66th General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), held in the Austrian capital Vienna.

Toukan reaffirmed Jordan’s commitment to achieving its national vision of of using nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, citing the Kingdom’s progress in “developing the Jordanian nuclear program”, according to a JAEC statement.

Touching on these achievements, Toukan, addressing the gathering, said they include the Jordan Nuclear Research and Training Reactor, which produces medical radioactive isotopes, and the Jordanian uranium mining project.

The Jordan Uranium Mining Company (JUMCO), a JAEC-owned company, began operating a plant to extract yellowcake from uranium ore, producing about 20Kg of yellow cake from 160 tons of uranium ore, he explained.

Additionally, the International Center for Synchrotron-Light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East (SESAME) is forging ahead with advanced scientific research, he indicated, adding that 134 research projects were conducted and 57 international scientific papers were published.

He praised the IAEA’s choice of Jordan as a specialized training platform, citing a six-month Arabic-language higher university educational course on radiation protection and safety of radioactive sources held in the country.

When meeting with the Jordanian delegation, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi emphasized the Agency’s support for the Jordanian nuclear program, praising the progress made on various aspects of the program. He also thanked Jordan for agreeing to host the International Conference on Research Reactors, which will be held at the Dead Sea in November 2023.

On the sidelines of the conference, Toukan and the agency’s Deputy Director General for Technical Cooperation, Hua Liu, signed an agreement outlining the organizational framework for projects to be implemented during the following years (2023-2027).

Source: Jordan News Agency

The Higher Population Council (HPC) has urged stakeholders to redirect resources toward the Kingdom’s less densely populated governorates and peripheral regions to reverse the current urbanization trends and address development disparities.

On the occasion of World Habitat Day on October 3, the Council released a statement emphasizing the critical need to address the imbalance in Jordan’s population distribution and to promote greater equality among the country’s governorates.

It advocated for creating more opportunities for college-educated young men and women to find work and start families, as well as for making housing more affordable.

Each year, World Habitat Day focuses attention on the state of human settlements. This year’s theme “Mind the Gap. Leave No One and No Place Behind” puts the spotlight on widening inequalities in living conditions across the world.

Achieving spatial, social, and economic equality, including access to affordable housing and basic urban services and infrastructure, was cited by the Council as a condition for making the case for equitable development.

Disparities in meeting these requirements, the Council warned, pose a serious threat to development outcomes and opportunities for its sustainability, and disrupt the equilibrium of population distribution across the Kingdom’s regions.

A recent HPC study puts Jordan’s urban population at nearly 10 million, and the UN predicts that the number will rise to 12 million by mid-2040.

In 2021, 90.3% of Jordan’s population lived in urban areas, up from 59% in 1979 and 78.2% in 2004. The governorates of the capital, Zarqa, and Irbid all had rates above 90%, while Maan and Karak had the lowest (54% and 59%, respectively).

Reverse migration from governorate centers to “other built-up areas and the countryside” is reflected in 2015 internal migration data. Net migration to other built-up areas reached (13.3%) and rural areas reached (4.4%), with governorate centers suffering the greatest loss (14.9%).

The large influx of refugees also increased population density in the major urban areas, with 96.4 percent of them living in urban areas. The Capital Governorate took in 35.2% of these refugees, followed by Irbid (21.8%), Zarqa (17.6%), and Mafraq (15.2%).

Source: Jordan News Agency

The Jordan Young Scientist (JoYS) initiative and Madrasati, an initiative launched by Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah, signed Sunday a memorandum of understanding to solidify their partnership and highlight the importance of implementing STEM-focused projects in schools across Jordan.

“The JoYS initiative is a new national initiative for Jordanian youth that is based on a proven model originally implemented in Ireland over fifty years ago with the aim of encouraging young people who wish to study science and leverage it to create change in society,” according to a statement by the Embassy of Ireland in Jordan, which oversaw the agreement.

It strives to transform Jordan by empowering young people to develop solutions to social, technological and economic challenges, through the application of evidence-based scientific approaches, the statement added.

Madrasati contributed to the first national JoYS exhibition which was held on the 8th of June 2022 by facilitating the participation of 10 public schools from several governorates across Jordan.

Over the next year, with the cooperation of the Madarsati Initiative, the JoYS program will be carried out nationwide with the expectation that the initiative will become a national competition for students studying science subjects in secondary schools.

The Embassy of Ireland in Jordan said it will also continue its role, pledging to continue to work with partners to ensure the initiative’s success for many years to come.

Source: Jordan News Agency

HRH Prince El Hassan bin Talal has emphasized the importance of advancing human solidarity ethics that value respect for individuals and steer clear of exclusionary and discriminatory policies.

At a regional conference on migration and asylum in the Arab region held last Thursday in Amman, Prince El Hassan highlighted the importance of cooperation, integration, and networking among all local, regional, and international bodies to address challenges faced by refugees and migrants.

Over the course of two days, the “Refugees and Migrants from and in the Arab Region: Shadows of Discrimination” conference focused on the problems and challenges refugees and migrants face in and out of the Arab region, including discrimination and exclusion.

Prince El Hassan asserted that refugee and immigrant issues must be approached from multiple humanitarian, political, and development perspectives. To “humanize refugee and migrant statistics”, he advocated for a national knowledge network for the region and a regional socio-economic council with “common theme clustering”.

His Highness asserted that improving the lives of refugees will require multidisciplinary engagement, interdependence, and integration, and he urged responsible dialogue between societies and institutions based on knowledge and information.

The conference, attended by international representatives, civil society representatives, Arab and foreign academics, official bodies, and interested parties, aimed to provide a critical overview of the various patterns of discrimination against Arab immigrants and refugees, including structural and political issues.

The gathering also aimed to steer the dialogue toward outcomes by identifying a number of recommendations and advocacy messages that relied on legal tools, institutional mechanisms, and strategies to improve protection.

The event was organized by the Migration and Refugee Forum for the Arab World (MARFA) of the Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development (ARDD), and the Tamkeen Center for Legal Aid and Human Rights with the support of the Heinrich Boll Foundation in Jordan and Palestine.

Source: Jordan News Agency

The upcoming visit of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden, slated for November 15-17, will enhance the deep-rooted and historical ties between the two countries, the Swedish Embassy in Amman said in a statement on Sunday.

The visit, at the invitation of His Majesty King Abdullah II, will emphasize cooperation on regional issues, multilateral issues, environment and climate issues, and comprehensive sustainable development, including the participation of women and youth, in addition to promoting trade and investment between the two countries.

During the visit, the Swedish Dialogue Institute for the Middle East and North Africa will be established, and the embassy will be relocated to a new building.

King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia will be accompanied by a Swedish government delegation as well as private sector representatives.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh on Sunday announced that all ministries, government departments and public institutions will observe a holiday marking Prophet Mohammad’s birthday on Saturday, October 8th. Prophet Mohammad (Peace be Upon Him) was born on the 12th day of Rabi I in the Islamic calendar.

In an official statement, the premier stressed that all official institutions should contribute to highlighting the occasion.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Jordan expressed its condolences and solidarity with Indonesia on Sunday, after more than 170 people were killed in a stampede and violence following a football match in Malang Regency, East Java.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates issued a statement expressing its heartfelt condolences to the government and people of Indonesia for the victims of the accident.

The stampede and subsequent riot between Arema and Persebaya Surabaya supporters resulted in at least 174 deaths and 180 injuries, according to news reports citing Indonesian officials.

Source: Jordan News Agency