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AMMAN — Jordanian authorities on Thursday morning postponed deporting 800 Sudanese minutes before they were to be sent back home after one month of protest in front of the UNHCR building in Amman calling on the UN agency to expedite their resettlement.

“After stamping the departure stamp on our passports and we were about to depart, authorities cancelled this stamp and took us back to the air cargo area in the airport [Queen Alia International Airport],” one Sudanese told The Jordan Times early on Thursday, before they were transported to an accommodation, which is 10 minutes drive from airport late on Thursday.

Minister of State for Media Affairs and Communications Mohammad Momani, who is also government’s spokesperson, said there is no change in the government’s decision, attributing the delay to “logistic reasons”.

“The logistics of this are being worked out. We are in contact with the Sudanese authorities and UNHCR to make sure that we implement the decision properly,” Momani told The Jordan Times.

Authorities on Wednesday morning escorted some 800 Sudanese to the airport, where they were later to be deported to their country.

Hundreds of Sudanese had demonstrated for nearly a month outside UNHCR offices in Amman demanding to be granted refugee status.

Momani said the protesters were to be deported to Sudan as they came to Jordan for medical treatment but then “they started demanding to be recognised as refugees.”

Meanwhile, Aoife McDonnell, external relations officer with UNHCR Jordan said: “We are gravely concerned regarding the possible deportation of some 800 Sudanese nationals, some, if not many of whom we expect are registered with UNHCR as refugees and asylum seekers and therefore have international protection needs.”

She added that UNHCR is aware of the fact that the main demand from the Sudanese protesters is resettlement, and that they want their cases to be processed quickly. “Resettlement is not a right. We submit refugees for resettlement to third countries based on their level of vulnerability,” McDonnell told The Jordan Times by e-mail.

She explained that the percentage of Sudanese submitted for resettlement is 2.9 per cent and is higher than among Syrians (2.3 per cent). 

“In addition, resettlement is based on quotas provided by the countries who will accept them, not by UNHCR,” the UN agency official added.

AMMAN — The government on Wednesday demanded Israeli occupation authorities to end their security cover of Jewish extremists’ storming of Jerusalem’s Al Aqsa Mosque/Al Haram Al Sharif, citing such incidents that occurred earlier this week. 

Minister of State for Media Affairs and Communications Mohammad Momani expressed Jordan's total rejection of the Israeli occupation forces' move to allow Jewish extremists to perform "Talmudic rituals" after they broke into Al Haram Al Sharif, describing such practices as a stark violation of the sanctity of the holy sites and an insult to the feelings of all Muslims.  

Momani, who is also government spokesperson, slammed the occupation authorities for allowing groups of extremist Jews to enter Al Aqsa, bare footed, as part of "Talmudic rituals", pointing out that the Israeli forces' failure to prevent such an act is part of a series of continued and ever-increasing Israeli violations against Al Haram Al Sharif. 

The official also stressed Jordan's utter rejection of the Israeli occupation forces' interference in the renovation works overseen by the Hashemite Reconstruction Committee at Al Aqsa Mosque. 

He said the Israeli ongoing violations against the Noble Sancturay are a blatant breach of the peace accord signed in 1994 between Jordan and Israel, and constitute a blatant violation of relevant international laws and UN, and UN Security Council resolutions. 

Such violations hold proof of Israeli non-stop attempts to change the status quo of the holy sites in occupied East Jerusalem, Momani said. 

He stressed Jordan’s firm stance to exercise  its rights entailed in King Abdullah’s custodianship over Islamic and Christian sites in the Holy City of Jerusalem, noting that the Kingdom will continue to resist these violations with all in its power and through all diplomatic and legal channels. 

AMMAN —Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Imad Fakhoury has concluded a visit to South Korea, during which he delivered a letter from His Majesty King Abdullah to President Park Geun-hye on bilateral ties and regional cooperation.

Fakhoury also held a series of meetings with key figures from the government and the private sector and gave an interview to a leading paper in Seoul, a ministry statement said.

The Royal letter stressed “Jordan’s keenness and solid commitment to further enhancing bilateral relations in different areas of mutual interests as well as outlining ways to deal with developments in regional and international arenas,” the ministry said.

During the three-day visit that concluded Tuesday, the minister met with an array of senior officials from the ministries of foreign affairs, finance and education, in addition to top executives from the Export-Import Bank of Korea, Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and NonHyup Financial Group.

During the meetings, Fakhoury briefed the officials on Jordan’s holistic approach to respond to the Syrian crisis repercussions, which entails developing programmes that would enable Jordan to sustain its services to Syrian refugees. 

The plan can be realised, he said, if Jordan is secured funds, through soft loans and grants, for the 2016-2018 Response Plan for the Syrian refugee crisis “despite its classification as a high middle-income country,” Fakhoury said.

The minister signed an Arrangements Agreement with the EXIM Bank of Korean for a supplementary loan in the amount of $30 million to finance the building of Naur Wastewater Treatment Plant, at a 0.15 per cent interest rate to be paid back in 40 years, with a nine-year grace period. The Korean side provided a loan for the same project in 2006 for $20.8 million.

According to the statement, Fakhoury also discussed with Korean officials new priority areas for cooperation in the development sphere for the coming period including water, education and vocational training. 

The ministry said the Korean side is considering a new support grant to Jordan for the year 2017 under a new initiative “Better Life for Girls” recently launched by the Korean resident to support priority projects in host communities.

The two sides exchanged views on regional issues and Jordan’s geopolitical role in the fight against terrorism and extremist ideology, in addition to bringing back peace and stability to the region.

During the visit, Fakhoury conducted an interview with Chosun ILBO, a key local and the most influential newspaper in Korea. The interview focused on the impact of Syrian refugees, as well as investment opportunities available in Jordan that could be of interest to Korean businesses.

Furthermore, the minister held meetings with executives in two Korean private sector companies: Daewoo International and Doosan, which have implemented projects in the region in the fields of power plants, oil and gas, water desalination, infrastructure, electronics and others. He updated the corporate leaders on the investment and business climate in Jordan and newly introduced business-related legislation, in addition to an overview of new investment opportunities Jordan announced earlier this year in renewable energy (wind and solar), transport, water (Red Sea-Dead Sea Water Conveyance Project), infrastructure, tourism and ICT.

Furthermore, the minister was co-hosted by the Gulf Cooperation Council Institute and the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy where he delivered a lecture on “challenges and opportunities facing the Middle East in 2016” with a special focus on Jordan.

From its side, the Korean officials emphasised the strong partnership between Jordan and Korea. They vowed to continue support for Jordan to maintain its economic resilience at these difficult times and enable Jordan to address challenges ensuing from the Syrian refugees crisis.

The Korean side also expressed interests in exploring prospects of cooperation in the education sector, in particular in educational policy and models, university programmes and the Korean Teachers Dispatch Programme, among others. 

Since 2010, Korea has extended to Jordan $165.5 million of which $23.76 million as grants and $141.7 million as soft loans, according to official figures. 

AMMAN — Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh on Wednesday in Tokyo met with his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida and discussed with him bilateral relations and regional developments, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

The two officials discussed the importance of taking advantage of available opportunities that serve both countries and enhance Japanese investments in Jordan. 

They also discussed international efforts to combat terrorism with Judeh reiterating that the Kingdom will always remain in the forefront in the face of extremist ideologies, stressing the importance of international coordination and cooperation in this fight.

In regard to Syria, Judeh and Kishida discussed efforts to find a political solution, including the recent meetings of stakeholders in Vienna.

Judeh outlined the burden Jordan shoulders in hosting too many Syrian refugees and the challenges this poses to host communities, urging international society to help Jordan and enable it to sustain its humanitarian mission. 

As for Palestine, Judeh stressed the need to implement the two-state solution, under which an independent Palestinian state is established within the June 4, 1967 lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital, based on relevant international references and the Arab Peace Initiative.

The meeting also covered the situations in Libya, Yemen and Iraq. 

For his part, Kishida underlined the Jordanian-Japanese partnership and commended the Kingdom’s regional role, under the leadership of His Majesty King Abdullah, to achieve security and stability in the region. 

Also on Wednesday, Judeh met with Speaker of the House of Representative of Japan Tadamori Oshima and discussed with him regional developments.

Oshima expressed interest in resuming parliamentary cooperation with Jordan.

Judeh also met with the Jordanian-Japanese friendship committee at the Japanese legislature and stressed the importance of exchanging visits by delegations, as it was announced that the committee would soon arrive in the Kingdom to meet senior officials.

AMMAN — The Lower House will hopefully endorse the 2015 parliamentary elections law in February or sometime during the first quarter of 2016, a senior official has said.

“Logically, lawmakers should pass the elections law in February. The draft the government has referred to them is  straightforward and not at all controversial and it serves the purpose,” Minister of Political and Parliamentary Affairs Khaled Kalaldeh has said in a recent interview with The Jordan Times. 

The minister said that the draft elections law the government has referred to the House was drafted after one-and-a- half years of revision of all the related literature and electoral systems applied worldwide.

“While writing the law, the technical committee put on the table the National Agenda, Jordan First Document, We are All Jordan Document, the outcomes of the (2011) National Dialogue Committee, the 1989 and 1993 elections laws as well as the electoral systems in emerging democracies in Eastern Europe and Latin America.”

“I myself reviewed 113 electoral systems applied worldwide while the law was being drafted.”

The left-leaning minister explained that the major focus during the preparation phase was centred on finding the best electoral formula that ensures the best, widest and fairest representation of population segments and political powers in the House.

“The most important conclusion reached after the revision was that the previous elections laws encouraged the use of ‘black money’ and not ‘political money’ as it is misconceived in Jordan.”

Kalaldeh explained that political money refers to receiving funds for election campaigns and it is legal and legitimate while black money means vote buying.

“To avoid previous mistakes, we proposed the propositional list at the governorate level.”

Under the 2015 elections bill, the number of Lower House members has been reduced to 130 from 150, based on the open proportional list at the district level.

The new law is based on an at-large voting system in which all candidates can run for parliamentary elections on one large multi-member ticket.
Under Article 9 of the law, eligible voters will have a number of votes equal to the number of seats allocated for their district in the Lower House. 

“As is the case all over the world,” Kalaldeh explained, the government technical committee’s choice of the best electoral system was based on the geographical, demographic and developmental realities of each governorate and electoral districts.

“The proportional representation is the best electoral system especially in countries moving towards a full-fledged democracy.”

Asked about the government’s declining popularity especially since it is widely perceived as a “money collector” due to its trend to increase prices and taxes, Kalaldeh said, “A lot of injustice has been practised against Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour’s government. 

“The government has been the target of systematic campaigns launched in media and social networks by influential persons whose interests have been affected by the government’s daring decisions and its firmness in applying the law.”

He said that the government has sealed more than 950 illegal wells and stopped more than 15,000 violations on electricity networks. “It is natural to see such violators take it out on the government.”

“For a long time, Queen Alia Airport and hotels in Dead Sea used to buy water from thieves who were stealing water” from the public network. 

Kalaldeh also said that increasing prices has “never been the only economic policy and it is misperceived”, adding: “The government is overwhelmed with misconceptions and stereotypical judgments.”

“The government has lowered prices of fuel derivatives and the tax on clothes and basic food items, and therefore prices in the local market should go down.  But traders never reconsidered the prices of items they sell.”

He explained that the government cannot interfere in imposing price limits on dealers because this would be a violation to the free market policies and “literally reinstating the totalitarian market”, adding, “Civil society organisations and customer protection activists should be the ones who monitor prices”.

Political reform 

On political reform process, Kalaldeh said in addition to legislation to develop political life and boost democracy in the Kingdom, there should be a culture that promotes democracy. 

Democracy should come from the house, schools and universities, he said. 

On the relation between the government and MPs, particularly after a wave of tensions over the recent government decisions to raise fees and prices, Kalaldeh said the chamber and the government are on “excellent” terms, adding that differences should be the norm.    

AMMAN — A Royal Decree was issued on Wednesday ratifying the 2015 decentralisation law, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The law was ratified after being endorsed by the two Houses of Parliament. 

In November, the Lower House removed a constitutional flaw over which His Majesty King Abdullah returned the 2015 draft law to Parliament in October. 

The King said Paragraph A of Article 6 of the law concerning the establishment of governorate councils was incompatible with a Constitutional Court ruling because it does not state that governorate councils are administratively and financially independent from the central government.

The law is one of four key political reform laws, along with the elections, political parties and municipalities laws. 

AMMAN — The US is committed to Jordan’s economic prosperity and, despite regional security challenges, the Kingdom remains a beacon of opportunities for investors and a hub for US business interests, US Ambassador  Alice G. Wells said Wednesday.

The US will continue to support Jordan’s development goals, particularly in the face of regional instability, she said at an event held by the American Chamber of Commerce in Jordan attended by several member companies and businesspeople. 

“America’s relationship with Jordan is one of our most important in the region and the intensity of high-level consultations between our leaders reflects this special US-Jordanian relationship and the role Jordan plays in the Middle East,” the ambassador said.

Building on previous efforts to boost economic ties, Wells added that the US and Jordan must continue to confront shared challenges and seize every opportunity to advance shared interests.

“Our commercial service has an active plan for trade missions in 2016, including a trade mission to the United States early in 2016 to explore US energy storage technologies, which have the potential to revolutionise Jordan’s energy sector as they represent the cutting edge of global energy solutions,” Wells said.

The ambassador added that the embassy is coordinating with AmCham to advocate for improvements in the business environment.

“We are engaging the government and private sector to help streamline the regulatory environment, as the World Bank Ease of Doing Business report indicates what we hear from US and Jordanian companies — other countries are moving faster than Jordan to facilitate trade and investment,” she noted.

The ambassador said 2015 was a "record year" for bilateral economic engagement anchored by the 2001 Free Trade Agreement.

In 2014, total bilateral trade, facilitated by tariff reductions in the FTA, exceeded the $3.4 billion mark — an all-time high.  

Between January and September of 2015, trade exceeded $2.1 billion. While US exports to Jordan decreased, Jordanian exports to the United States in 2015 are up by almost 9 per cent, at a time when overall Jordanian exports fell by more than 7 per cent, according to the ambassador.

The FTA has also created 50,000 more direct jobs for Jordan and even more indirect positions, she said.

The US renewed its memorandum of understanding with Jordan, which reflects Washington's intent to provide $1 billion in bilateral assistance annually from 2015-2017, Wells said.

The US has provided Jordan with $3.75 billion in loan guarantees over three years designed to support specific reforms that promote economic stability, growth, and prosperity for the Jordanian people.  

"The 2015 $1.5 billion loan guarantee is the largest US loan guarantee in our history," she said.

“Our security assistance has also grown to record highs, a testament to the security partnership that is a foundation of our bilateral relationship.”   

Speaking during the gathering, AmCham-Jordan Chairman Mohammed Bataineh said the chamber has developed a new strategic plan that focuses on promoting two-way trade by diversifying Jordanian exports and American imports under the FTA, as well as expanding access to the US market for Jordanian companies.

“In the coming years, the strategic plan aims to achieve objectives and programmes that ... support our members and their business objectives in a manner that will further develop the rapidly expanding trade and investment between Jordan and the US,” he said. 

AMMAN — For traffic police officer Majid Mashagbeh, who starts regulating traffic on the capital's streets early every morning, Wednesday was a day he will always remember. 

When Mashagbeh went to the 3rd Circle to do his job, he was approached by a group of young Jordanians who served him coffee and gave him a small gift. 

They wanted to express their gratitude to traffic officers in Amman on the occasion of International Traffic Day. 

"This gesture shows that Jordanians are like one person and we can conquer all hardships," Mashagbeh told The Jordan Times. 

He was among 50 police officers who were approached by volunteers representing the Khalil Salem Charity Society (KSCS), which seeks to serve communities and spread the culture of voluntary work.

Marah Yousef, media coordinator at KSCS, said the idea is to show appreciation to these officers who leave their families and children behind to serve Ammanis. 

"We wanted to thank them in our way with a friendly touch," she told The Jordan Times. 

"The volunteers went to many locations in Amman, including the 1st, 3rd, 7th and Interior Ministry circles," Yousef added. 

Farah Nabulsi, one of the volunteers, said she was happy to meet many policewomen. 

"They usually help us without being asked when we drive."  

Her colleague, Ghassan Nasim, 26, said he heard about the activity through social media and wanted to take part out of respect to traffic officers' key role.

Ruqayah Fuqaha, a sergeant, said she was amazed that some people remembered the occasion and decided to mark it with a beautiful gesture. 

"Such actions will help raise awareness and this shows that there are many people who appreciate our efforts," she added.  

"Our message on this occasion to motorists is to urge them to avoid traffic violations, especially the use of mobiles while driving."

AMMAN –– Around 400 mosques in the Kingdom are currently generating power from solar energy, Awqaf Ministry Secretary General Abdul Munem Hiyari said Wednesday. 

In addition, hundreds of other mosques are also set to switch to solar energy in the near future, Hiyari told The Jordan Times, noting that the solar-powered mosques reduced their electricity bills to almost zero.

A mosque's electricity bill can range between JD500 to JD1,000 a month, but after installing solar panels mosques pay only JD3 a month as subscription to the power company, he said. 

There are 6,200 mosques in Jordan, whose electricity bills stand at over JD6 million a month, the official added. 

"The ministry is encouraging mosques across the Kingdom to switch to solar power because it is a priority for the government and the country as a whole," he said. 

Hiyari noted that the ministry contributes to 20 per cent of solar power projects at mosques in a bid to accelerate the adoption of clean energy, and wanted to build a solar-power plant but the plan was suspended due to its high cost, estimated at between JD40 million and JD50 million.

Jordan, which has one of the highest annual daily averages of solar irradiance in the world, with an estimated 330 days of sunshine in the year, has been implementing a strategy to increase renewable energy's contribution to the overall energy mix to 10 per cent by 2020.

According to official figures, there are several small-scale entities, including households, mosques, schools and small industrial facilities, which already generate electricity using solar energy at a total capacity of 30 megawatts.

AMMAN — Ibrahim Obeidat on Tuesday presented his credentials to Salvador President Salvador Sánchez Cerén as Jordan’s nonresident ambassador, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Obeidat delivered His Majesty King Abdullah’s greetings to Cerén, who voiced his aspiration to boost bilateral relations, Petra said.