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AMMAN — The Jordan Tourism Board (JTB) has launched a summer campaign in the Gulf market under the motto “Yes, it’s Jordan”, to promote the Kingdom’s attractions, Tourism Minister Nayef Al Fayez said Wednesday.

At a press conference to announce the campaign, Fayez said the Kingdom’s tourism sector has faced major challenges and witnessed a decline in its contribution to the gross domestic product due to regional developments, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

JTB Managing Director Abed Al Razzaq Arabiyat said the campaign was announced ahead of the season to give Arab guests enough time to choose Jordan as their destination.

He added that the campaign includes advertisements on billboards and television and radio commercials.

AMMAN — The Egypt 16 medical team for Jordan’s field hospital in Cairo’s Shorouk city arrived in Egypt on Wednesday, according to a Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army statement.

Doctors, nurses and pharmacists at the facility offer specialised, quality services to patients, the statement said.

The hospital includes internal medicine, surgery, gynaecology, paediatric medicine, ophthalmology and dental clinics, in addition to providing a comprehensive medical lab and radiation section, the statement added.

Egypt 15 personnel concluded their mission in the North African country and arrived in the Kingdom.

AMMAN — The Authorities on Wednesday raided the headquarters of the old Muslim Brotherhood (MB) in Abdali, downtown Amman, and ordered staff there to evacuate the offices and sealed the place.

A senior official told The Jordan Times that the closure of the offices came in implementation of judicial rulings to transfer properties of the “unlicensed” MB to a rival splinter group that officially registered last year.

The official, who asked to remain unnamed, explained that the “illegal” old MB attempted to carry out several activities and the newly established Muslim Brotherhood Society contested that to the authorities.

Another government source, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, told The Jordan Times that although the authorities banned the old group from holding its “internal” elections, it conducted them “secretly”, violating the country’s laws.

The Muslim Brotherhood group was considered “illegal” after the registration of the society a year ago, following a first wave of a defection  within the movement, led by former overall leader Abdul Majeed Thneibat, whose group posed as legitimate replacement of the local mother group.

The Muslim Brotherhood group was licensed in 1946 as a charity affiliated with its international mother group in Egypt and was relicensed in 1953 as an Islamic society.  Although the group modified its by-laws two months ago, ending their affiliation to Egypt, it is still labelled as “illegal” by authorities, because they were expected to re-register in a new capacity as an NGO.

Badi Rafaiaa, a group’s spokesperson, said: “We were shocked that security forces raided our premises this morning, asked us to leave the place and sealed it,” after presenting the staff with an official letter from Amman governor informing them with his decision to shut down the place.

“This is a breach of our legal rights”, Rafaiaa charged, adding that the group would resort to the judiciary, as “we have not received a notification earlier”.

For his part, Thneibat said this issue is between the government and the “unlicensed” brotherhood. 

They violated the law and had to deal with the consequences, he added.

Later in the day, authorities sealed the brotherhood’s premises in Jerash Governorate, some 48km north of Amman.

AMMAN — As international demand for Jordanian date palms is increasing due to high quality, date palm plantations are expanding across the country, officials said on Tuesday.

Growing date palm trees in the Kingdom is a success and the sector has been growing steadily over the past decade, the officials said, noting that Jordanian dates are now strongly competing regionally and internationally.

"Planting certain types of date palms has succeeded in Jordan due to its climate. The Kingdom is now internationally famous for two types of rare date palms; medjool and berhi," Ministry of Agriculture Spokesperson Nimer Haddadin told The Jordan Times.

Date palm farming has been on the rise in the Jordan Valley, Haddadin said, noting that the trend started in the 1990s.

“The terrains planted with date palms in the Jordan Valley are expanding year after year because of the area’s hot weather during summer and its moderate temperatures during winter. In addition, the rich soil of the Jordan Valley makes the area a very good choice to start this kind of farming,” according to the official.

Over the past ten years, a total of 29,000 date palm trees have been planted in the Jordan Valley, according to Adnan Khaddam, president of the Jordan Valley Farmers Union.

He said more farmers are now shifting from growing vegetables to date palm trees due to the high value of this kind of farming. He said such a shift is good news because it eases the over-farming of vegetables, which has increased supplies on the local market and thus affected the income of farmers.

“In addition to the date palms, farmers in the Jordan Valley are now planting more pomegranates and Mexican lemon trees, which yield fruit three times a year,” Khaddam told The Jordan Times.

Across the Kingdom, there are over 30,000 dunums planted with date palms, according to Haddadin, the majority of which are in the Jordan Valley.

“Planting date palms is also famous and successful in Aqaba, Maan, Zarqa and Azraq,” Haddadin highlighted.

A total of 33,000 tonnes of dates are produced each year, Haddadin said, noting that the country annually exports 5,000 tonnes of the fruit, mainly to Europe and the United States.

“The country is particularly famous for its medjool dates, which are highly demanded regionally and internationally. There are more than 300,000 trees of medjool palm dates in Jordan, in addition to 125,000 trees of berhi palms and another 15,000 trees of different types of the palm trees,” Haddadin said.

The official said that the average consumption of palm dates in Jordan is 1.5-2kg per person per year, highlighting the fruit’s richness in nutritional elements, including minerals and vitamins.

However, the official said, small farmers of date palms often suffer from marketing problems because they lack packaging facilities, noting that the ministry plans to help them in addressing such challenges by providing consultations and guidance.

In a step to expand the terrain planted with palm dates and drape vines, and to increase the farms’ competitiveness locally and internationally, the Ministry of Water and Irrigation announced on Sunday that the Jordan Valley Authority was increasing its water allocations for the irrigation of both crops in the Jordan Valley.

The decision was welcomed by the Jordan Farmers Union, which said that the increased water rations would encourage the shift from vegetables to high-value fruit trees in the Jordan Valley. 

AMMAN – Jordan's economy grew by 2.5 per cent in 2015, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). 

In its World Economic Outlook, released Tuesday ahead of the IMF/World Bank Group Annual Spring Meetings in Washington, DC, in April 15-17, the international financial organisation projected the Kingdom’s economy to expand by 3.2 per cent this year and 3.7 per cent in 2017.

The IMF has previously expected Jordan's gross domestic product (GDP) to grow by 2.9 per cent but due to slower economic activity in the first three quarters, which stood at 2.3 per cent, it was downgraded to 2.5 per cent. 

The IMF outlook for this year and 2017 is lower than the projections of the government, which planned 2016 state budget on the basis of a growth rate of 3.7 in 2016 and 4.5 per cent next year. 

In regards to inflation, the IMF expected it to remain low at 0.2 per cent this year and 2.1 per cent in 2017. Inflation in 2015 was put at 0.9 per cent by the Department of Statistics.

Current account balance to the GDP, according to the IMF, is projected to narrow from 8.8 per cent in 2015 to 6.4 per cent this year and 5.6 per cent next year.   

AMMAN — Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour on Tuesday emphasised that he never used his clout to push for the appointment of his relatives, again stressing that no single corrupt act has been committed during his premiership.  

Ensour’s remarks came during the Lower House’s oversight session in response to some MPs’ claims that he has used his influence to appoint his relatives and in-laws.

“Reducing the premier’s post to such a matter [appointments] brings a lot of damage to the country,” the prime minister said. “My family is always attacked.” 

“Should I close all opportunities in the face of my relatives…? Should my family leave the country until I complete my term in office?” he asked. 

Addressing House Speaker Atef Tarawneh, Ensour pledged to “resign” if the accusations of corruption that MPs raised prove to be true.

Also on Tuesday, the House postponed the vote on the recommendations of its financial committee on the Audit Bureau’s report for the years 2009 to 2012 until the government prepares a reply.

The House gave the government one week to prepare a reply on the measures it will take to deal with the violations listed in the committee’s notes on the report. 

The violations have to do with the use of public vehicles and appointments at public agencies, among other issues. 

For the first time in seven years, MPs discussed the Audit Bureau’s report in full at a Lower House session, after such an issue was conventionally the task of permanent committees.

In January of this year, the Law Interpretation Bureau ruled that the House cannot directly ask the attorney general to investigate violations listed in the Audit Bureau’s annual report.

The Law Interpretation Bureau said the Chamber can refer any violations to the prime minister to take the necessary measures; however, if a minister is involved in reported violations, the House is authorised to investigate, collect evidence and refer the minister to court.

AMMAN — “Doing his bit” to support Jordan’s tourism sector, Abdel Rahman Almuheed has launched a social media campaign that highlights the Kingdom’s “undiscovered” adventure sites.

The interactive campaign, dubbed “Let’s Go to Jordan”, seeks to promote the Kingdom’s attractions, particularly for Gulf Cooperation Council countries, since many Arabs, as well as Jordanian residents and expatriates are not familiar with the lesser known sites that are not usually promoted in media campaigns.

“In the south of Jordan, there are over 260 valleys that people can visit for adventurous and medical purposes, with temperatures of hot springs reaching 60°C,” Almuheed told The Jordan Times in a recent phone interview, citing over 50 diving locations in Aqaba. 

With over 21,000 followers on the campaign’s Facebook page, 10,000 on Twitter and some 4,000 on Instagram, Almuheed shares photos and content on tourism sites in Jordan, a matter he said attracts the attention of many Jordanian expatriates, Arabs and foreigners.

“Jordan’s richness in natural landscapes and archaeological sites allows visitors to enjoy a variety of experiences in all seasons,” according to the Kuwait resident, who has recently volunteered to organise adventure trips for Arab journalists and social media activists, in partnership with local adventure teams and the Jordan Tourism Board.

The campaign has so far organised a trip to the northern region, with over 60 participants who shared photos and stories about the trip through the campaign’s hashtags, a matter that received “wide” popular interest, according to Almuheed.

“Many Jordanians and Arabs send us messages to inquire about the locations, the trips and how they can visit these places,” he said, noting that upcoming trips this season will cover the central and southern regions.

Tourism is Jordan’s best “window to the world” as it develops relations with all nations, Almuheed said. 

Some Arabs have contacted him to buy properties in Jordan as a form of investment, he added.

“We aspire to increase tourism’s contribution to the gross domestic product from 13 per cent to over 20 per cent,” Almuheed said.

It is important that the private sector support tourism initiatives and similar voluntary activities, he added, as tourism revenues benefit everyone.

AMMAN — Believing in the “special link” between nature, emotions and feminine beauty, Jordanian artist Hanada Khataybeh is showcasing that relationship in her work at an art exhibition that opened on Saturday.

The exhibition, held in Amman, depicts a representation of emotions and their impact on the human mind and natural elements, according to Khataybeh. 

“It is the perception of fading into an imaginary world while [being] rooted in reality,” the artist said.

Khataybeh says her work captures moments, while shining the light on the link between nature and fantasy through the sensual appearance of feminine beauty.

“Through using elements of nature and connecting them to human emotions, the viewer and artist travel to another universe,” she told The Jordan Times at the exhibition, which concludes Thursday.

Most of the pieces of acrylic, pastel colours and coloured pencils on canvas depict women and elements from nature such as butterflies and fish.

“I leave the conclusion to the viewers. They can travel with the art piece and analyse it according to their personal view,” she added.

“As a female artist, I emphasised feminine sensuality in my paintings to show the magnificence of being a female,” the artist continued.

Commenting on the recent trends in art, Khataybeh said new art movements depend more on “video art” and using more technology; however, she argued that artists are neglecting the “realistic” and “classic art”.

AMMAN — Authorities on Tuesday were investigating the issue of three Bangladeshi domestic workers who allegedly jumped from the second storey of a building last Thursday. 

The workers were returned by their employers to the recruitment office, where they reportedly jumped from the window for “still unknown reasons”, Mohammad Khatib, the Labour Ministry’s spokesperson, said Tuesday. 

The Criminal Investigation Department’s Anti-Human Trafficking Unit on Tuesday said it was handling the case, according to a statement carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra. 

The workers are currently receiving treatment at Al Bashir Hospital, where one of them was reported to suffer bruises and fractures, the statement added.

“They are being dealt with as human trafficking victims until investigations with the recruitment office owner and an assistant of his are over,” said the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit.

So far, the investigation indicates that the workers were taken to the office because they “could not cope with their employers and work environment”. 

“They insist that they were not abused by their employers whatsoever, but the recruitment office owner treated them in a bad way, prompting them to attempt an escape from a bathroom window,” said the statement. 

Authorities are cooperating with the workers’ embassy and its lawyer in the investigation in order to refer the case to court. 

Meanwhile, Tamkeen Fields for Aid on Tuesday strongly denounced the incident, saying that the abuse the workers were subjected to prompted them to escape in a way that threatened their lives. 

“A team from Tamkeen has visited the workers at the hospital, and two of them said they were abused by their employers and were returned to the recruitment office upon their request, while the other one was taken by her employer to the office,” according to a Tamkeen statement received by The Jordan Times. 

The centre noted that the workers were beaten by the office owner and were then locked up inside the bathroom while being deprived of food and water. 

“A number of employees had given them food leftovers without the knowledge of the owner, who gave them the option to throw themselves from the window or be killed,” said Tamkeen. 

The centre said there are hundreds of similar cases of abuse against domestic helpers in Jordan, a fact that constitutes a “flagrant” violation of international conventions the country is signatory to. 

“We call on the concerned authorities to intensify their efforts to protect guest workers and hold abusers liable, while amending legislation governing workers’ well-being,” said Tamkeen. 

Khatib said the ministry’s inspectors carry our periodical field visits to recruitment centres to ensure they abide by regulations.  

AMMAN – Jordan and the German Development Bank (KfW) on Tuesday signed agreements for water and wastewater projects worth 22 million euros (around JD18 million), the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Water Minister Hazem Nasser signed several agreements to implement wastewater networks and water projects across the Kingdom, especially in regions hosting Syrian refugees.

During the signing ceremony, attended by Florian Rabe, KfW office director in Amman, Nasser noted that the ministry is working to overcome the burdens resulting from the overpopulation of the northern and central regions and the increasing demand for water.

Nasser said the agreements aim at constructing a water pipeline from Khaw area to Zaatari station reservoir in Mafraq, some 80km northeast of Amman.

The 31-kilometre-long pipeline will be implemented by a local contractor in 18 months, with work scheduled to start before the summer of 2017, providing 10 million cubic metres of Disi water to the northern governorates. 

The Zaatari project will cost 12 million euros, 90 per cent funded by  KfW through a loan and 10 per cent by the Water Authority of Jordan, Nasser added.

The minister noted that the second project includes building sewage networks for Manshiyet Bani Hassan in Mafraq at a cost of 10 million euros funded by a grant from the German government. 

The project will benefit 25,000 people in this area, improve the environment and protect underground water.

He commended the German support through KfW and Gulf Arab countries’ assistance through the Gulf Cooperation Council grant.

Rabe praised Jordanian-German cooperation, asserting Germany’s commitment to enabling Jordan to confront the extraordinary circumstances resulting from hosting Syrian refugees. 

He also urged donor countries to aid Jordan in meeting the rising demand on water and sewage services, according to Petra.