Day: January 21, 2023

Amman, The Foreign Ministry condemned the burning of a copy of the Holy Quran in Stockholm on Saturday.

The Ministry reaffirmed the Kingdom’s rejection and condemnation of this act, which fuels hatred and violence and threatens peaceful coexistence.

The Ministry emphasized that spreading and promoting a culture of peace and acceptance of the other, raising awareness of common values of respect, enriching values of harmony and tolerance, and rejecting extremism, intolerance and incitement to hatred, is a collective responsibility that everyone must adhere to.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Amman, Prices of 21-karat gold, the highest demand at local market, stood at JD39.20 per gramme, as purchasing price, against JD37.60 as selling price, an official said Saturday.

Jordan Jewelers Association’s Secretary General, Ribhy Allan, told Jordan News Agency (Petra) that the price of 24-karat and 18-karat gold amounted to JD45.70 and JD35.10 respectively.

The price of a Rashadi lira, weighing seven grammes, stood at JD277, while an English lira, which weighs eight grammes reached JD315, Allan said.

He added that gold prices in global markets on Friday reached $1,928 per ounce.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Irbid, The executive program of the economic modernization vision (2023-2025), which was recently endorsed by the government, incorporates key priorities to prop up the industrial sector’s competitiveness and maximize opportunities in economic and developmental fields, Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply and Minister of Labor Yousef Shamali said.

He told a meeting Saturday with industrialists in Irbid Governorate that 418 priorities are incorporated into the executive program at a total value of JD2.3 billion, adding that initiatives worth JD670 million will be implemented this year.

Shamali said that the high-value industrial plan aims to prepare Jordan to be a regional industries hub through 64 initiatives and 116 priorities at a total cost of JD315 million, including JD91 million this year.

Top priorities under the scheme include an industry support fund, the national employment program and the preparation and implementation of the national export strategy, he pointed out.

The minister said that the industry support fund, for which JD30 million are allocated annually, aims to reduce production and other costs and enhance the national industry’s competitiveness to enter new markets, coinciding with the global economy’s recovery and positive indicators achieved by many local sectors after the Covid-19 crisis.

Shamali said a key objective of his ministry under the vision of economic modernization is to open new markets for national exports and finalize the necessary agreements with world countries to enter their markets.

He noted that national exports soared to JD6.82 billion during the first ten months of 2022, at a growth rate of 40.7 percent.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Amman, Royal Court Chief Yousef Issawi, head of the Follow-up Committee for the Implementation of His Majesty King Abdullah’s Initiatives, met separately on Saturday with notables from Fuhais and women representatives in Aqaba.

The encounters followed His Majesty’s meetings with dignitaries and local leaders of Fuheis on Monday and representatives from Aqaba Governorate earlier this month.

During the meeting with Fuheis local leaders, which was attended by the King’s adviser for tribal affairs, Atef Hajaya, Issawi reaffirmed His Majesty’s keenness to keep channels open with the sons and daughters of the Kingdom in various regions, and listen to their demands and needs in coordination with the relevant authorities.

The attendees appreciated His Majesty’s visit to Fuheis and his communication with Jordanians across the various regions, stressing the model of coexistence in Jordan.

The Fuheis dignitaries aired a number of demands for their city, including infrastructure, traffic problems and road safety, establishment of a heritage village, theaters and a children’s park, as well as preserving the heritage of Fuheis and the old Parish.

During his meeting with the women representatives in Aqaba, the Royal Court chief stressed His Majesty’s keenness to empower Jordanian women and provide them with the means to succeed and excel in various fields, especially economic empowerment and expanding their participation in public life.

He said that a key focus of Royal Initiatives in the coming stage is supporting productive and employment projects.

For their part, the women leaders demanded enhancing partisan culture among Aqaba women, with some suggesting concluding an agreement with local universities to develop their skills and qualify them for entrepreneurial and productive enterprises to be self-reliant, as well as the establishment of a literacy center.

They also stressed women’s participation in the tourism sector through updating legislation and supporting handicrafts.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Ramallah, A Palestinian man was shot and killed by Israeli troops in the occupied West Bank on Saturday, raising to 18 the number of Palestinian fatalities by army fire since the start of the year, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

It said 42-year-old Tareq Odeh Maali succumbed to his wounds after being shot by Israeli soldiers in the village of Kufr Nimah west of Ramallah.

Four children were among those killed by Israeli soldiers since January 1st.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Amman, Jordan continues to wage a long war against misinformation and fake news, with 2,151 rumors circulating in the past five years, mostly on social media and news websites, according to latest statistics.

The rumors were spreading in Jordanian society, either through media outlets or social media platforms between August, 2018, and the end of December, 2022, of which 503 were published by local media outlets and 1,457 were posted on social media platforms, according to data by the Jordanian Media Credibility Monitor, Akeed.

Detailed reports on rumors in the Kingdom obtained by Petra through Akeed, the Jordan Media Institute platform that tracked fake news’ origins, publishers and spread, found that they usually thrive in abnormal circumstances, such as times of crises, wars, natural disasters, etc.

However, they revealed that rumors do not disappear in ordinary circumstances, and spread more in certain social, political and cultural environments than others, and their spread depends on the degree of ambiguity and subject matter.

Specialists provided Petra with data on the circumstances of rumors spread, the extent of their impact on various walks of life, and ways of combating them, emphasizing citizens’ awareness and ability to verify the accuracy of information and taking it from reliable sources.

They noted the “joint, strategic” role of private and state institutions in countering rumors, underlining the need to differentiate between freedom of expression as per the law and disseminating misleading information that may be intended to offend a certain entity or personality.

Monitoring rumors in the Kingdom is a key focus at the heart of Akeed’s tasks the year round, as reports are compiled and posted monthly and annually on its website, said Akeed Director Hussein Abu Rumman.

The latest report showed that 362 rumors were recorded in 2022, at a rate of 30 per month, said Abu Rumman, adding that most of these were economic by 30 percent, followed by public affairs and then security, with these domains often rotating monthly in first place. He pointed out that the origins of rumors were mostly internal, with 95 percent coming from local sources.

Abu Rumman explained that the last Akeed report compared data from last year and the previous two years, with an average of 47 rumors a month recorded in 2020, which is normal, given their health nature as 2020 was the year of Covid-19 spread.

The virus climate’s impact persisted in 2021, with a rumor rate of 46 a month, reaching an average of 30 in 2022, which showed Jordanian society continued to be affected by gloom and conspiracy theories that existed during the pandemic, he said.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Amman, The executive program for Jordan’s Economic Modernization Vision (EMV, recently approved by the government, identified 7 initiatives in Jordan Axis as a Global Destination, which features tourism sector and film production sites, to be implemented during 2023 and 2025 at a cost of JD254 million.

The 7 initiatives aim to preserve and develop Jordan’s archaeological, heritage and tourism sites, launch campaigns to promote tourism in target markets, network Jordan with target countries, enhance tourism work environment and governing legislation.

In addition, the initiatives seek to develop and promote tourist products, stimulate tourism investment and market Jordan’s archaeological and heritage sites for filming purposes.

The initiatives, which were identified by the executive program, featured multiple priorities that are set to be implemented during 2023 at a cost of JD80 million.

These initiatives primarily focus on developing, maintaining and rehabilitating tourist buildings, facilities and sites, as well as implementing tourism promotion programs, continuing to carry out “Urdun Jannah” domestic tourism programme, and launching promotional and marketing campaigns on various digital marketing means.

Meanwhile, 2023 priorities focus on maintaining support to low-cost charter flights, expanding use of electronic visas and tickets for tourists, as well as revisiting and amending legislation governing Jordan’s tourism sector.

The executive program came as a government commitment to implement EMV as a cornerstone of Jordan’s comprehensive modernization project, led by His Majesty King Abdullah II, with its three political, economic and administrative tracks.

The EMV, which was launched in mid-2022, is viewed a major national project that features practical and realistic targets that would form a roadmap for the national economy over the next ten years, and will be implemented according to gradual stages.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Amman, A Jordanian industrial delegation is scheduled to begin a working visit to Saudi Arabia on Saturday to discuss ways to develop the two countries’ economic relations and build joint industrial partnerships.

The delegation, headed by chairman of Jordan and Amman Chambers of Industry, Fathi Jaghbir, comprises industrial companies operating in multiple production sectors, while the visit, organized by Amman Chamber of Industry (ACI), will include Saudi cities of Jeddah, Makkah and Madinah.

In a statement today, the ACI said the delegation’s 7-day visit will see participation in Makkah Expo for Hotels & Restaurants, which is slated to open next Tuesday.

Jaghbir stressed the importance of strengthening Jordanian-Saudi economic relations and increasing their trade exchanges, which amounted to $4.2 billion in 2021, in light of the “distinguished, brotherly” bilateral relations in various fields.

Jaghbir said the visit comes as a continuation of the previous “successful” visit last year, which saw joint business meetings with Saudi businesspeople in Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam and Makkah, during which memoranda of understanding (MoU) and cooperation were signed between Jordan and Amman chambers of industry and commerce chambers in these Saudi cities.

Lauding cooperation of various Saudi authorities in facilitating procedures for the delegation’s visit, he also referred to efforts made by Jordanian embassy in the capital, Riyadh, as well as Federation of Saudi Chambers (FSC) and heads of commerce chambers in Jeddah, Makkah and Madinah.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Amman, The Jordan Seismological Observatory (JSO) of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources on Saturday announced that it recorded two earthquakes measuring 4.3 on the Richter scale in northwest Syria.

JSO President Ghassan Sweidan said that the two earthquakes, recorded at 4:33 and 5:28 pm Amman time, occurred at a depth of 10 kilometers.

He added that the two earthquakes occurred northwest of the city of Homs and both are of moderate tangible magnitude.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Amman, The Kingdom’s trade balance deficit with Greater Arab Free Trade Area (GAFTA) countries reached JD2.8 billion during the first 10 months of 2022, compared to about JD1.6 billion for the same period in 2021, the Department of Statistics (DoS) announced on Saturday.

According to the DoS foreign trade data, value of national exports to the GAFTA countries during January -October period 2022 increased by 19.6% to reach about JD2.225 billion, compared to JD1.861 billion during the same period in 2021.

Meanwhile, the value of the Kingdom’s imports from the GAFTA countries rose by 44.8% to reach about JD5.002 billion to last October 2022, compared to the same period in 2021, which amounted to about JD3.454 billion, the DoS figures showed.

Among the GAFTA countries in which Jordan’s trade balance achieved a surplus are Iraq, Syria, Qatar, Sultanate of Oman, Yemen, Kuwait, Libya, Palestine, and Sudan.

While Jordan’s trade balance recorded a deficit with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, UAE, Egypt, Lebanon, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco.

According to the DoS figures, Saudi Arabia topped the list of Jordan’s exports to GAFTA countries in the first ten months of 2022, amounting to about JD699 million.

In addition, Saudi Arabia was the top exporter to Jordan, as the Kingdom’s imports from Saudi Arabia amounted to about JD2,487 billion and thus the trade balance deficit with Saudi Arabia reached about JD1.8 billion during the first 10 months of 2022.

Source: Jordan News Agency