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AMMAN — The army said on Sunday that 185 Syrian refugees entered Jordan in the previous 72 hours.

Border Guards transferred the new arrivals to shelters and camps, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. Royal Medical Services personnel treated the injured.

AMMAN — The board of commissioners of the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) on Sunday decided to set up investment areas for mega projects within the district of Qweira, after acquiring the Cabinet’s approval in this regard the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

ASEZA Chief Commissioner Hani Mulki said the board approved floating a tender on engineering services for the preparation of a comprehensive plan for the district.

The areas that will host industrial and logistic investments will enjoy full benefits provided under the law for special economic zones, he added.

Qweira, 50km north of Aqaba, is one of the country’s “poverty pockets” and has been the target of public and private development plans over the past years.

AMMAN — Six people were injured on Sunday when their vehicle overturned in the customs area on the way to Aqaba, the Civil Defence Department (CDD) said in a statement.

Aqaba CDD personnel administered first aid to the injured and took them to Prince Hashem Military Hospital where they were listed in fair condition.

In Zarqa, four people were injured when their vehicle overturned. CDD cadres administered first aid and took them to Jabal Al Zaitoonah Hospital where they were listed in fair condition.

AMMAN — Public Security Department (PSD) and Criminal Investigation Department (CID) personnel have arrested a suspect wanted for setting five vehicles on fire in Natheef and Marreikh areas to steal their contents, a PSD statement said Sunday.

Central Amman PSD’s main operations room received reports about an unidentified individual who set five vehicles ablaze. The CID team gathered evidence, which led to a suspect wanted for previous crimes. CID agents arrested him he confessed to breaking the windows of the vehicles to steal what was inside and then burning them to cover his tracks.

AMMAN — A photo exhibition currently under way at National Library Department, showcasing the progress of Indo-Jordanian diplomatic relations concludes on February 8.

The exhibition is open between 10am and 3pm, according to an Indian embassy statement. Photos at the exhibition depict relations between the two countries since 1950.

The exhibition is held by the Indian embassy in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture, marking 65 of Jordanian-Indian diplomatic relations, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

This video released by the Jordan Armed Forces-The Arab Army (JAF) shows the efforts of Border Guards in offering assistance to Syrian refugees crossing into the Kingdom. 

The video carries the following information:

• Since the outbreak of the Syrian crisis, Border Guards have received hundreds of thousands of refugees.

• 91per cent were women and children, while 9 per cent were men.

• Border Guards allow the entry of Syrian refugees in groups on a daily basis.

• The number of refugees received by the Jordan Armed Forces-The Arab Army (JAF) in 2015 was 17,100. The number of refugees since the start of 2016 until January 13 was 622.

• JAF offered medical treatment to more than 100,000 sick refugees.

• JAF foiled 85 infiltration cases in 2015, with 132 people involved.

• JAF foiled 33 smuggling cases in 2015, with 52 people involved. Most of the seized items were guns and drugs.

• JAF faces many challenges. Security challenges Social challenges Economic challenges.

• Since the beginning of the Syrian crisis some five years ago, JAF spent around JD500 million.

AMMAN — Syrians constitute 46 per cent of non-Jordanians living in the Kingdom and 13.2 per cent of the overall population, preliminary results of the national census conducted in late November showed on Saturday.

Of Jordan’s total  population of 9.5 million, the number of Jordanians is around 6.6 million, while the number of non-Jordanians who reside in the country is around 2.9 million, representing 30.6 per cent of overall population, according to the results announced Saturday by Department of Statistics Director General Qasem Zu’bi.

In regard to governorates, the results showed that 4 million people, or 42 per cent of the population, live in Amman, 1.770 million in Irbid, 1.364 million in Zarqa, 549,948 in Mafraq, 491,709 in Balqa, 316,629 in Karak, 237,059 in Jerash, 189,192 in Madaba, 188,160 in Aqaba, 176,080 in Ajloun, 144,083 in Maan and 96,291 in Tafileh.

Of the total non-Jordanian population, 1.265 million are Syrians, followed by Egyptians, totalling 636,270 representing 6.68 per cent of the population and Palestinians who do not have national ID numbers with 634,182 representing 6.65 per cent of the population.

Iraqi nationals come next with 130,911 representing 1.3 per cent of the population, Yemenis with 31,163 representing 0.33 per cent of the population and 22,700 Libyans representing 0.24 per cent of the population. Around 197,385 people of several other nationalities also reside in Jordan, accounting for 2.07 per cent of the population. 

The figures showed that 49.7 per cent of the non-Jordanians residing in the Kingdom live in Amman, while 38.6 per cent of Jordanians live in the capital.

On the distribution of Syrians living in Jordan, 435,578 Syrians live in Amman, 343,479 in Irbid, 207,903 in Mafraq, 175,280 in Zarqa and the rest are distributed across the country’s other governorates.

Of the Palestinians who do not have national ID numbers, 308,091 live in Amman, 189,788 live in Zarqa, and 53,628 live in Jerash, while the rest live across the country’s other governorates, according to the figures. 

The census, which covered 1.977 million families, indicated that the largest increase in population was in 2011. Annual population growth in 2004-2015 stood at 5.3 per cent, the census showed, attributing the rise to the waves of refugees into the Kingdom.

The average size of families living in Jordan dropped from 6.7 people in 1979 to 4.8 in 2015.

The figures indicated that half of the country’s population is covered by health insurance.

Among Jordanians, two thirds, or 66.6 per cent, have health insurance.

Of Jordanians living in the capital, 50.2 per cent have health insurance, while the percentage is higher in all the other governorates.

The percentage of Jordanians with health insurance in Balqa is 76 per cent, Zarqa 56 per cent, Madaba 79 per cent, Irbid 79 per cent, Mafraq 85 per cent, Jerash 88 per cent, Ajloun 95 per cent, Karak 93 per cent, Tafileh 94 per cent, Maan 88 per cent and Aqaba 77 per cent. 

AMMAN — As Jordan marked the birthday of His Majesty King Abdullah, the Monarch on Saturday directed concerned officials at the Royal Court to continue implementing a number of Royal initiatives targeting underprivileged families, charity societies, orphanages, elderly people and the disabled.

A Royal Court statement said that 30,000 underprivileged families across the Kingdom would benefit from the Royal directives, to be selected according to specialised surveys carried out by the Ministry of Social Development.

The Royal initiatives aim at easing the suffering of the targeted segments and meeting their basic needs. They will replace the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organisation's food parcels distributed over the past years to underprivileged families in their areas across the Kingdom, the statement said.

As per the Royal directives, societies taking care of elderly people and those with disabilities as well as orphanages will continue receiving financial support according to well-defined standards that ensure justice and fairness, the statement said.

His Majesty also directed concerned Royal Court officials to continue supporting 1,500 orphans from Gaza through the Gaza-based Wiam Charity Society, according to the statement.

The King’s makruma to the Gazan orphans came on the basis of a report by the Jordan field hospital in the strip, stressing the difficult situation of this segment after the passing away of their parents, the statement said.  

On Saturday, the Kingdom celebrated His Majesty’s 54th birthday.

Born in Amman on January 30, 1962, King Abdullah is the eldest son of His Majesty the late King Hussein and HRH Princess Muna.

A Royal Decree was issued on January 24, 1999 naming him Crown Prince. He assumed his constitutional powers as King on February 7, 1999 upon the passing away of His Majesty the late King Hussein.
The King began his primary education at the Islamic Educational College in Amman, and later attended St Edmund’s School in Surrey, England.

For his secondary education, he attended Eaglebrook School and Deerfield Academy in the US.

King Abdullah joined the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst in the United Kingdom in 1980 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1981.

He joined the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army in 1982 as a first lieutenant, moving up the ranks in the military. He also served with the Royal Jordanian Air Force Anti-Tank Wing, where he received his wings as well as his qualification as a Cobra attack pilot.

In 1987, the King joined the foreign service faculty of Georgetown University in Washington, DC, and completed an advanced research and study programme in international affairs along with a master’s programme in foreign service.

The King rejoined the military in 1989 and continued to be promoted, becoming commander of the Royal Jordanian Special Forces and Special Operations in 1994 with the rank of brigadier general.

In 1996, the King reorganised the Special Forces to comprise selected units, and was promoted to the rank of major general in 1998.

King Abdullah married Her Majesty Queen Rania on June 10, 1993 and they have four children: Their Royal Highnesses Crown Prince Hussein, Princess Iman, Princess Salma and Prince Hashem.

AMMAN — With world leaders meeting in London for the “Supporting Syria and the Region Conference 2016” at the end of this week, Jordan has renewed its call on the international community to adopt a new approach to deal with the Syrian refugee crisis, said Mohammad Momani, the minister of state for media affairs and communications.

The new strategy should not be based on humanitarian relief alone, but should also include economic development goals, for the Kingdom to be able to continue carrying the burden of hosting the refugees, said Momani, who is also the government's spokesperson, on the eve of the London conference.

"We appreciate what the international community has provided, but we have reached our limits," stressed Momani, adding that the international community’s support to Jordan was not enough to cover the needs of some 1.26 million Syrian refugees living in the country, mostly in host communities.

Therefore, the Kingdom will call this year for adopting a new funding approach of sustainable solutions, according to Momani.

He told The Jordan Times that investing in regional and host countries’ stability by adopting a new sustainable approach to deal with the refugee crisis is the most feasible and effective way to serve individual countries and the world’s stability and security.

“If we don’t help Syrian refugees inside Syria and in host countries, it will be inevitable that the entire world will feel the consequences of their tragedy ... Just like we have seen in the heart of Europe lately,” explained Momani.

Pledges for the 2015 Jordan Response Plan by donors covered only 36 per cent of the required funding, estimated at $2.9 billion in total, while funding for host communities across the Kingdom covered only 8 per cent. This has placed pressure on the Kingdom’s infrastructure, services and budget, officials have said.

Funding required for the 2016-2018 Jordan Response Plan is estimated at around $8 billion — $2.5 billion for humanitarian needs, $2.5 billion in financial support to host communities and $3 billion to compensate the Treasury for the burdens it will bear. 

According to the minister, “immediate support to the country’s infrastructure, particularly the vital sectors of education, water and health”, is needed.

Creating new job opportunities through industry, trade and investment is an essential part of the holistic approach, now and for the future, said Momani.

“If the world wants us to be able to help Jordanians affected by the Syrian crisis and Syrian refugees, then the national economy must be helped to provide economic and employment opportunities for Jordanians as well as Syrians,” he added.

“This cannot be done given the huge burden on the Jordanian economy unless this economy grows sustainably and sufficiently... we want access to their [donors’] markets and ease of access to the rules of origins,” the minister explained.

The “Supporting Syria and the Region Conference 2016”, which will take place on February 4 in London, is co-hosted by the UK, Germany, Kuwait, Norway and the United Nations.

AMMAN — Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour on Saturday said that it is impossible for the national economy to cope with the sharp increase in population by three million as a result of the refugee influx.

The premier's remarks to journalists came following a visit he made to the Azraq Refugee Camp ahead of the London refugee donors’ conference next week, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Azraq camp, some 100km east of Amman and 20km west of the town of Azraq in Zarqa Governorate, is currently home to 29,992 Syrian refugees, according to the UNHCR’s latest available figures. It is the second such makeshift city after the Zaatari camp, where around 80,000 refugees take shelter. The rest of the 1.265 million Syrians live in host communities, constituting in all 13.2 per cent of the overall population of around 9.5 million, according to the results of the national census announced Saturday.

"His Majesty King Abdullah will make it very clear during the conference that the Syria crisis is no longer a refugee concern only but a security burden, an issue of sleeper cells, illicit drugs trafficking, terror and radicalism," Ensour said.

"It is true that supporting the Syrian refugees is our duty but we are doing this on behalf of the world, especially Europe."

Ensour said that the Syrian refugees would have headed to Europe if Jordan had closed its borders and provided them with no decent living, Petra said.

“We are not begging the world for help but we are carrying out our moral and humanitarian duties,” Ensour said, adding: “Jordan’s response to the crisis of the Syrian refugees has been marked with generosity, responsibility, wisdom, sound planning and management, if compared to that of other hosting countries.”

Referring the national consensus results, Ensour said Syrians in Jordan are “our guests and brothers. However, the Kingdom is not an oil-rich country but a rather a state of a modest economy not exceeding in size JD40 billion and is incapable of absorbing the sharp increase of population”.

Jordan has never changed its open-border policy when it come to the Syrian refugees, Ensour stressed, adding that the world is required to support the economy of the refugee-burdened Kingdom to create job opportunities for Jordanians and refugees as well. “If this happens, then we can keep our borders open and, if not, then how can Jordan, in light of its troubled budget, be able to serve them [refugees]?” 

“We want the world to shoulder its responsibilities and, if it chooses not to, we will say that what we have done is enough.”

On the Syrians now living across the Jordanian-Syrian border, Ensour said that they are offered heated shelters, food and medication by Jordan.

“Why has this number been the world’s focus at the time Jordan has received and is still receiving refugees?” Ensour said, adding, “The problem with this group of Syrians is that they have come from Syria’s Raqqa and Qameshli in the northeast and not from the regions bordering Jordan. We have the right to ensure that there is no security threat from this group because it came from this place [a Daesh  stronghold].”

Ensour also said Jordan has ambitions that the London conference  would see a change in the world’s way of handling of the Syrian crisis, from a matter of emergency and relief assistance to an approach entailing development goals concerning the economies of host countries.