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AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Wednesday returned home after concluding a working visit to Bahrain, according to a Royal Court statement. His Majesty was seen off upon departure by Bahraini King Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa, Crown Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifah, and high-ranking civil and military officials.

On Tuesday, King Abdullah and King Hamad held a meeting where they stressed the “deep-rooted” relations between the two kingdoms and their keenness to boost ties in all fields. They underscored the importance of sustaining coordination between the countries on various issues, especially the regional challenges, which will help enhance the joint Arab action and serve the Arab nation’s causes.

BONN — International experts on climate, forests and revegetation on Wednesday described the Sahara Forest Project as “inspirational”, calling for a scaling up and replication of the project in developing countries to address food security and land degradation challenges.

The Sahara Forest Project embodies the core goals of the ongoing 23rd Conference of the Parties (COP23), the experts said following Minister of Environment Yaseen Khayyat’s review of the driving factors, goals and expected outcomes for the project during a session hosted on the sidelines of the COP23.

Sharing the Jordanian experience in Sahara project, which was launched in September in Aqaba under the patronage of His Majesty King Abdullah and Crown Prince Haakon of Norway, Khayyat underlined that Jordan is a “real-life test for innovative and daring solutions to water, energy and food challenges”.

“The project’s concept is based on sound science and this must provide a big boost for its potential success. [It] serves as a base towards creating green jobs, sustainable production of food, energy and water…,” Khayyat said at the session.

The project aims at producing 10,000 litres of fresh water per day and up to 130,000 kilogrammes of vegetables annually, in addition to production of solar power, according to the minister.

Khayyat reiterated that the project enjoys strong political commitment, noting that the pilot is scheduled to be transferred to a large-scale scheme in the future.

“This is the beginning of a long, green, fruitful pathway and the Sahara Forest Project is the beacon that will shed light on yet-to-come missions,” Khayyat told the gathering.

The 30-dunum Sahara Forest Project Launch Station, located outside the port city of Aqaba is mainly financed by Norway and the EU.

It uses sun, saltwater, desert areas and CO2 to produce food, fresh water and clean energy. 

At the session, Chief Executive Officer of the Sahara Forest Project Joakim Hauge highlighted that food is a global commodity, noting that, by finding new ways for producing food and revegetating, pressure is also taken away from deforestation elsewhere, while land degradation in dry areas is reversed.

Camilla Nordheim-Larsen, programme coordinator at the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), said that the project is interesting for multiple reasons, stressing that it is unique in its the involvement of private investors. 

“We, at UNCCD, try to bring attention to investing in restoration of land, and I’ve seen that there’s an enormous appetite from investors in sustainability, the environment and the social aspects and the project [Sahara] brings together the three elements…,” Larsen noted.

Meanwhile, Tim Christophersen, coordinator of the freshwater, land and climate branch at the UN Environment Programme and Chair of the Global Partnership on Forest and Landscape Restoration, called for scaling up the Sahara Forest Project.

“The main value of this project in my opinion is an inspiration; because we valued [at] the Global Partnership on Forest and Landscape Restoration that there are around two billion hectares of degraded lands worldwide…, what we need to do is unleash the private sector’s entrepreneurship, finance and innovation capacity to scale it up,” Christophersen said.

AMMAN — The joint Jordanian-Saudi military drill “Yarmouk 2” concluded on Wednesday, with the participation of the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army and the Saudi Armed Forces, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Drill director Brig. Gen. Thiab Shawabkeh delivered a briefing on the exercise phases to the attendees, who included commanders of the northern military zones in Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

The exercise aimed at enhancing cooperation and joint military action between the two countries' armies, as well as improving rapid response to terror threats and planning traditional and untraditional operations. 

AMMAN — HH Prince Mired, president of the Higher Council for the Affairs of Persons with Disabilities, on Wednesday highlighted the importance of cooperation with the council to facilitate integrating people with disabilities into the labour market.

In a dialogue session co-organised by the council and the Amman Chamber of Industry, Prince Mired noted the Kingdom's efforts in presenting better services to people with disabilities, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Labour Minister Ali Ghezawi expressed the ministry's readiness to support any initiative to help employers recruit people with disabilities through the national programme for empowerment and recruitment that targets six economic sectors. The programme is financed by the government at a value of JD100 million. 

AMMAN — Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi on Wednesday met with Vladimir Voronkov, the undersecretary general of the UN counter-terrorism office,  and discussed regional and international efforts to fight terrorism.

Safadi stressed Jordan’s keenness to continue cooperating with the international community in combating terrorism, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. He reviewed aspects of cooperation between Jordan and the UN in combating terrorism and extremism. For his part, Voronkov praised Jordan’s role and efforts in addressing terrorism.

AMMAN — Guinean President Alpha Condé on Wednesday concluded an official visit to Jordan which lasted for several days, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

During the visit, Condé met with His Majesty King Abdullah and discussed bilateral relations, as well as regional and international developments.

AMMAN — Minister of Public Works and Housing Sami Halaseh on Wednesday signed a cooperation agreement with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to follow up on all procedures related to floating investment tenders to implement the passenger and shipment pavilions at the King Hussein Bridge.

The project aims at facilitating passenger and shipment movements between Jordan and Palestine. In 2016, over three million passengers crossed the facility. Halaseh noted that the ministry implemented the comprehensive blueprints through grants from the governments of the Netherlands and Germany, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

AMMAN — The national economy has shown signs of recovery and is expected to achieve positive growth rates in the coming years, Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) Governor Ziad Fariz said on Wednesday.

Inaugurating the fifth forum on banks’ social responsibility, Fariz added that Jordan has managed to overcome formidable challenges in the past five years, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The regional and world situations, he said, have led to a decline in growth rates to way less than their historic rates of 7.1 per cent recorded before regional crises emerged to an average of 2.6 per cent after the outbreak of crises between 2010 and 2016.

However, according to the governor, the growth rate remained positive, reaching in the first half of the year 2.1 per cent, and is expected to reach 2.2 per cent by yearend, compared to 2 per cent by the end of 2016. 

The governor cited a rise in tourism revenues by 12.7 per cent by the end of October, compared with a decline of 1.8 per cent in the same period of 2016.

Meanwhile, direct foreign investments grew by 30 per cent in the first half of 2017, and expatriate remittances went up by 0.7 per cent by the end of September, compared with a decline of 4 per cent in the same period last year, he added.

The governor also underlined the stability of national exports, after recording a 7.8 per cent drop in 2015 and 2016, noting that exports rose by 8 per cent by the end of August this year.

As for the reopening of borders with Iraq, he said, there are some signs that trade with Baghdad has been improving, stressing that the volume of exports to Iraq will take some time to restore the pre-closure levels. 

The effect of the reopening is expected to be obvious as of the second half of 2018, Fariz told his audience. 

Listing more positive developments, the CBJ chief said that capital expenditure grew by 7.4 per cent by the end of September, compared with a 9.4 per cent drop in the same period of last year, Fariz noted, stressing that such a growth contributes to improving performance of the various sectors of the national economy.

The situation will improve further in light of the government’s determination to build more partnerships with the private sector to implement capital projects, he explained.

The governor also cited a steady increase in the credit facilities banks grant to the private sector, which registered a growth rate of 7.8 per cent by the end of September this year.

Meanwhile, the central bank has done a good job in implementing its own mandate, according to the governor.

Fariz said that the CBJ has succeeded in maintaining the Kingdom’s monetary and financial stability and increasing demand on the Jordanian dinar as a safe haven for local and foreign savings.

AMMAN — Members of the anti-Daesh coalition on Wednesday discussed plans to eliminate the terror organisation in West Africa, Afghanistan and the Philippines, along with progress in the campaign against the extremist group in Syria and Iraq.  

Jordan co-hosted with the US the meeting of the political leaders of the Global Coalition to Counter Daesh, with participation of representatives of 27 countries and international organisations, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

During his opening remarks, adviser to the foreign minister, Nawwaf Tal, praised the “positive and rapid progress” of the military coalition’s operations and freeing nearly 6.6 million people from Daesh in Iraq and Syria, where the levels of violence have also dropped significantly. 

In Syria, such progress should be entrenched with a political process that goes in line with UN Security Council’s Resolution 2254 and the Geneva I output.

He stressed the importance of addressing all the factors that led to Daesh’s rise, highlighting the need to find sustainable political solutions for the current conflicts in the region.

US Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter Daesh Brett H. McGurk expressed his country’s appreciation for the Kingdom for hosting the coalition meetings at the various representation levels, and Jordan’s pivotal role in the international coalition.

McGurk briefed the participants on the developments of the military operations in Iraq and Syria, noting that Daesh has lost 95 per cent of land it used to control.

He also noted the coalition’s efforts to stop the flow and funding of foreign terrorist fighters, and the importance of continued support of projects that enhance stability in the liberated areas in Iraq and Syria. He urged the international community to provide more assistance in this regard.

The envoy stressed the importance of complementing military victories by political and diplomatic action.

During the meeting, the participants also discussed humanitarian aid in the city of Raqqa and in Iraq.

AMMAN — Jordan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC) Chairman Khaled Toukan on Wednesday stressed that building nuclear energy reactors in the Kingdom is a safe endeavour that will help generate much needed electricity and water.

“We should not doubt this project because this is what our enemy wants.  This project will be run by qualified Jordanians and is purely dedicated for generating electricity and water and will be utilised for medical purposes,” Toukan said.

Toukan’s assurances were made during the first panel that was part of the first day of the 11th session of the Amman Security Colloquium, held at the University of Jordan. 

The high-level gathering is organised by the Arab Institute of Security Studies and is sponsored by the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, the Netherlands and the Nuclear Threat Initiative.

“We are for nuclear energy for life and peace unlike Israel whose nuclear facilities are for war,” Toukan added.

Toukan also said that the conflicts and wars in the area have “drained the resources and positive energy of the Arab countries… that is why there is an Arab interest in nuclear energy for peaceful purposes such as water and electricity”.

“I believe that because of the circumstances surrounding us, Arab countries should continue to build and use nuclear reactors in a transparent manner to boost their economic and social growth and achieve sustainable development,” Toukan stressed.

Also speaking during the first panel was Chairman of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs and Egyptian Ambassador Mounir Zahran who said it is time the world strongly calls for a region totally free of nuclear arms and weapons of mass destruction.

“We live in a double-standard world where Israel is allowed to own nuclear weapons and we cannot,” Zahran said.

Egyptian Ambassador Mahmoud Karem, who also spoke during the first panel, agreed with Zahran saying: “It is impossible to open a dialogue with Israel” about the latter’s nuclear programme.

“The United Nations keeps asking us to have a dialogue with Israel about this matter, but it is really hard because there are always excuses such as Arabs are not ready... and Iran has missiles. These are all unacceptable excuses,” Karem said.

That is why, Karem added, “I believe that the UN secretary general should have an active pivotal role in the future regarding the issue of Israel’s ownership of nuclear weapons”.

The JAEC was established in 2008 to carry out a national strategy for nuclear energy to address the increasing public demand for energy, limited local energy sources and the high prices of fossil fuels on the international market. 

Jordan has already signed an agreement with Russia worth $10 billion to build the Kingdom’s first nuclear power plant with a total capacity of 2,000 megawatt.