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AMMAN — Jordan and Japan on Tuesday signed a 1.8 billion yen ($16.4 million) grant agreement to mitigate the impact of hosting more than 1.2 million Syrian refugees.

The additional grant, signed outside the framework of bilateral assistance, will be directed to purchase equipment and services for the ministries of water and municipal affairs.

Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Imad Fakhoury and Japanese Ambassador to Jordan Shuichi Sakurai signed the agreement.

Fakhoury thanked Japan’s government for its continuous support to the Kingdom.

“We look forward to starting immediate implementation of the programmes that are directed to two critical sectors,” he said.

The minister added that the grant is one of the outcomes of the London donor conference held on February 4 to support Syrian refugee hosting countries and the Jordan Compact.

This grant, Fakhoury said, would contribute to improving and supporting “government services in priority sectors for host communities”.

Japan, he added, provided Jordan with around $1.005 billion in the period between 1999 and 2015. Of the total, $474.72 million is in grants, and $530.4 million is in concessional loans, in addition to the technical assistance that the Japanese International Cooperation Agency offers.

Meanwhile, Sakurai stressed his country’s commitment to supporting Jordan to share the burden of hosting Syrian refugees, and to contribute to the future and stability of the region.

“We highly appreciate Jordan’s stance towards hosting refugees in spite of the mounting pressure on the country’s various systems, infrastructure and already limited resources,” the ambassador said.

“I would like to reiterate that Japan will continue making our best efforts to further strengthen the excellent bilateral relations with our best friend, and I also wish that this new grant would contribute to the further development and prosperity [of] the government and the people of Jordan,” he noted.

According to an embassy statement released on Tuesday, Japan has extended approximately $230 million worth of bilateral support to Jordan, and about $92 million to UN and international organisations in Jordan for projects related to the Syrian crisis since 2015 to date.

AMMAN — Jordanian students in Sudan on Tuesday started an open-ended strike outside the Kingdom’s embassy in Khartoum, demanding a review of a decision not to accredit secondary school certificates issued in the African country.

More than 700 Jordanians have flown to Sudan to complete the General Secondary Education Certificate Examination (Tawjihi), believing that the exams are easier abroad.

Earlier this week, Sudanese authorities detained a number of Jordanian students over claims that the secondary school national exam test papers were leaked and obtained by some Jordanian students.

The incident prompted the Education Ministry to announce that secondary school certificates from Sudan will not be officially accredited in Jordan. 

“This decision will harm us tremendously because it will be applied retroactively. Before coming to Sudan I headed to the ministry to ask them if the secondary school certificates in Sudan are accredited and they told me they were,” Abdullah Sarayreh told The Jordan Times over the phone on Tuesday while protesting outside the embassy in Khartoum. 

After failing some of the Tawjihi courses six times, Sarayreh decided to travel to Sudan to obtain his certificate there. 

“It was impossible for me to pass the Tawjihi. I cooperated with a mediator from the Sudanese embassy to facilitate the process,” said Sarayreh, who has been in Sudan since last October. 

The “difficult” curricula in Sudan has prompted the majority of Jordanians to switch to the Libyan system, which according to Sarayreh, comes in multiple-choice format. 

“The paper leak incident involved one Jordanian student enrolled in the Sudanese system,” he said, noting that it is “not safe for Jordanian students now in Sudan”.

His father, Ahmad Sarayreh, was among parents who protested outside Parliament on Tuesday to demand revoking the Education Ministry’s decision. 

“The ministry was clear when it told us that secondary school certificates issued in Sudan were accredited, provided that the students reside in the country for at least eight months,” he told The Jordan Times. 

Meanwhile, MPs Mustafa Rawashdeh and Nayef Leimoun headed to Sudan on Tuesday evening to “closely follow up on the issue”.

“We will understand the situation better there,” said Rawashdeh, noting that he was not aware of the number of Jordanian students detained in connection with the exam leak.

AMMAN — Pakistani-Jordanian ties are set to witness a big boost in the next few months as several steps will be taken to increase trade, according to Pakistani Ambassador to Jordan Lt. Gen. Shafaat Ullah Shah.

Pakistan is looking into supplying Jordan with 400,000 metric tonnes of wheat annually and an agreement is expected to be signed in the next few months between Jordan and the Punjab government in Pakistan in this regard, Shah told The Jordan Times in an interview on the occasion of his country’s national day, marked March 23.

“This deal is in advanced stages, awaiting final approval of samples to meet Jordanian standards of protein and other contents,” the envoy said.

Pakistan and Jordan are also negotiating over a preferential trade agreement to enhance cooperation in economic and trade sectors, added Shah.

“Jordanian-Pakistani ties are deep and solid, and witness great growth at different fronts. But the trade level is below the desired level and we need to do more as the room is large to further strengthen the already existing excellent ties,” the ambassador said.

Total trade balance between the two countries in 2015 stood at $85.86 million, with $35 million in exports to Pakistan and $49.92 million in imports, according to official figures.

The ambassador said there are some 16,000 Pakistanis working in Jordan, mostly in the agricultural sector. Some of them also work in the garment sector as Pakistan has some textile and garment factories in Jordan.

Operating a direct flight from Amman to Islamabad, he added, will help boost trade ties, noting that Pakistan plans to host the inaugural session of the Pakistan-Jordan Joint Business Council in the second half of this year, which would be beneficial for businesspeople of both countries and for establishing “much needed” business-to-business contacts. 

Pakistan and Jordan are key players in the fight against terrorism and they see eye to eye on all regional issues, said Shah.

“As His Majesty King Abdullah repeatedly stressed that the war on terror is a war that should be waged by Muslims. We Muslims should take the lead in this fight against the terrorists [who] try to hijack Islam and tarnish its image. [The] majority of the terrorists’ victims are also Muslims,” added the ambassador.

“Jordan and Pakistan have great cooperation in the areas of defence and intelligence sharing.”

He added that a delegation of Muslim scholars from Jordan and some Arab states will visit Pakistan soon to take part in a forum on Islamic moderation.

Stressing that people-to-people communication is one of the key areas that Pakistan focuses on, the ambassador said he started an initiative under which he will tour the Kingdom’s universities to deliver lectures about Jordanian-Pakistani ties.

He noted that Pakistan awards around 30-35 scholarships to Jordan under the Pakistan Technical Assistance Programme in medical, engineering and other majors. 

In addition to these, under various technical cooperation schemes, Pakistan also offers training to Jordanian officials in central and commercial banking, civil aviation, construction machinery, railways and postal services. 

AMMAN — A training plane affiliated with the Royal Jordanian Air Force (RJAF) experienced a malfunction while landing and hit the ground, a military source at the Jordan Armed Forces — Arab Army (JAF) announced on Tuesday.

The aircraft was landing in an air base when it crashed, the source said, adding that the pilots survived the accident, according to a JAF statement.

In early February, a Public Security Department pilot was killed and his co-pilot was injured when their helicopter crashed while they were carrying out a night training mission near Zai, Salt. In mid-January, an RJAF aircraft crashed during a regular training mission due to a technical failure.

In a statement carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra, at the time, a JAF official said the two pilots ejected and parachuted safely.

AMMAN — The army said on Tuesday that Border Guards received 100 Syrian refugees during the previous 24 hours.

The troops transferred the refugees to shelters and camps, and Royal Medical Services personnel treated the injured, according to an army statement carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

AMMAN — Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour on Tuesday called on ministries and public departments to publish the national human rights plan on their websites.

Ensour also directed all public institutions to ask their employees to study the plan before implementing it, highlighting the need for cooperating with the government coordinator on human rights while implementing it, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

AMMAN — A 16-year-old boy died on Tuesday when he was hit by a vehicle in Qweira, according to a Civil Defence Department (CDD) statement.

Also on Tuesday, five people were injured in a two-vehicle collision on the Mafraq-Zarqa road. CDD cadres administered first aid to the injured and took them to Mafraq Public Hospital, where they were listed in fair condition.

AMMAN — A six-year-old child was injured on Tuesday after falling from the fourth floor of his parents’ house in Ruseifa, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The child is currently receiving treatment at Prince Feisal Hospital, where he was listed in fair condition.

AMMAN — A Public Sector Development Ministry team has conducted an unannounced visit to the Salt Labour Directorate to observe the quality of services there, a ministry statement said Tuesday.

The team had to ask the public for directions to find the office. The directorate is on the first floor of a clean building, according to the team’s report, which has been sent to Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour.

The employees were serving the people well, the monitors said. Negative remarks in the report include the phone operator’s failure to take calls for two consecutive days, and the fact that the complaints box is not installed properly. 

KARAMAH/Jordan Valley — His Majesty King Abdullah, the Supreme Commander of the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army (JAF), on Monday attended a ceremony at the Unknown Soldier Monument in the Jordan Valley to mark the 48th anniversary of the Karamah Battle.

On March 21, 1968, Jordanian soldiers repelled an Israeli attack on the small Karamah town in the Jordan Valley, whose name means "dignity".

Eighty-six Jordanian soldiers lost their lives in the battle and 108 were wounded. 
The Israeli raid was repelled with heavy losses as the Jordanian army launched an artillery barrage against Israeli tanks.
A total of 250 Israeli soldiers were killed and 450 were wounded, according to official sources. 

On the occasion, His Majesty said in a Facebook comment that the sacrifices of the army are a source of pride for Jordanians.

"Standing at the site of Al Karamah, where the battles of the Arab Army and its sacrifices and the names of the martyrs and their heroic deeds will always remain medals of pride and honour that every Jordanian citizen holds dear," the King said in the post published on the Royal Court's official Facebook page. 

"Our soldiers will always shield and protect our country in the face of all enemies," he added.

The annual anniversary of the Karamah Battle coincides this year with celebrations to mark the Great Arab Revolt’s centennial on June 10.  

Several Royal family members as well as Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour, other senior officials, notables, serving and retired officers attended Monday’s ceremony in honour of those who sacrificed their lives for their homeland. 

The King reviewed the guard of honour, laid wreaths at the monument and recited verses from the Koran at the site.

Delivering an address during the ceremony, JAF Mufti Yahya Al Btoush said Jordan will forever remain strong with its men, heroes and martyrs, paying tribute to the fallen martyrs of the Arab Army.

Meanwhile, HRH Crown Prince Hussein wrote on his Instagram account: “On the 48th Anniversary of Al-Karamah Battle we remember our brave heroes that sacrificed their lives defending #OurJordan”.