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AMMAN — The Education Ministry needs an additional $27 million this year to cover the cost of serving Syrian students, Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Mohammad Thneibat said on Wednesday.

During a meeting with representatives of international donor organisations supporting the education sector, Thneibat said this gap in financing does not include the costs of building the 5,000 new classrooms required to keep up with the rising number of students.

He said more than 143,000 Syrian  students are enrolled in public schools, voicing his ministry's commitment to offer education services to all children, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

But the ministry, Thneibat said, needs international support to do so. 

The meeting covered the repercussions of the Syrian refugee influx on the local education sector, with the minister calling on the international community and donors to shoulder their responsibilities in securing education for Syrian students.

He thanked international donor organisations supporting the education sector. 

Attendees at the meeting praised the Education Ministry’s efforts in hosting Syrian students and offering them education alongside Jordanians.

AMMAN — Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour on Wednesday inaugurated the Jordan-UAE Economic Forum, which seeks to bolster economic and trade relations between the two countries.

The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply, which organised the event in cooperation with the Jordan Chamber of Industry, signed a memorandum of understanding with the UAE economy ministry aimed at enhancing cooperation in innovation, small- and medium-sized enterprises, and research and development activities. 

Trade Minister Maha Ali expressed hope that the forum would highlight opportunities and potential joint investment ventures, noting that the value of UAE investments in Jordan stands at $15 billion across sectors including agriculture, industry, and tourism, in addition to the Marsa Zayed development project in Aqaba.

The minister noted that the UAE is the top destination for Jordanian investors, receiving 22 per cent of the Kingdom's total investments abroad at a total value of some $1 billion, according to a ministry statement e-mailed to The Jordan Times.

UAE Minister of Economy Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansouri said Jordan is a strategic partner for his country in all fields, stressing that the forum is an expression of the two countries' keenness and commitment to enhance bilateral relations, the statement said.

The volume of bilateral trade amounted to JD579 million in 2014, he added, noting that there are 90 flights between the two countries each week. 

More than 170,000 Jordanians work in various sectors and professions in the UAE and they are the most law-abiding group among the various nationalities in his country, the statement quoted the UAE minister as saying.

Mansouri also called on the public and private sectors in both countries to work as one team to achieve a leap in their economic progress.

Jordan has received $1.4 billion in grants from the UAE, either from the government or from the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, according to the statement. 

Also on Wednesday, Ensour met with Mansouri and said Jordan is looking forward to receiving more UAE investments, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

Mansouri voiced his country’s interest in boosting bilateral economic and commercial cooperation. 

Ali met separately with the Emirati official and stressed the importance of cooperation to reach foreign markets, especially in Africa. 

AMMAN — Mohammad Allaf was sworn in on Wednesday before His Majesty King Abdullah as president of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Iyad Qudah was also sworn in as member of the ACC board. Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour and Royal Court Chief Fayez Tarawneh attended the ceremony at Al Husseiniya Palace.

AMMAN — Manaseer Group, a major fuel company in the Kingdom, is distributing bags of salt free of charge to Ammanis in preparation for potential snowfall during winter, a company official said on Wednesday. 

Muhannad Manaseer, marketing and sales manager at the group, said 500,000 kilogrammes of salt have been bagged, each containing 50 kilogrammes. 

"These bags are being distributed to families through our stations in Amman," he told The Jordan Times over the phone.

The capital's residents can spray the salt near their homes when it snows to prevent the roads from becoming slippery due to ice.

"We want to make snow easier to deal with in Jordan. Look how people in Europe work during snowfall; we want to enable Jordanians to carry on with their lives when it snows," he added. 

Manaseer noted that distribution started three days ago and covered 10 per cent of the group's locations. 

Gas stations on the airport road, Bayader Wadi Al Seer, Shmeisani, Abdullah Ghosheh Street, Marka, Mecca Street, Al Hurriyah Street, Al Sarou road numbers 1 and 2 and Tabarbour have been distributing the salt bags so far. 

Farouq Shalaldeh, a resident of Bayader Wadi Al Seer, commended the initiative. 

"I live far from the main street and every time it snows it takes time to open the roads. This will help us depend on ourselves," he told The Jordan Times.  

Sanad Abu Assaf, who lives in Shmeisani, said there is an urgent need for the private sector to work with the public sector during winter. 

"This is a good example of such cooperation and other companies have to follow the steps of Manaseer Group," he added. 

Manaseer said the group will add more snow-clearing vehicles to its fleet in preparation for winter. 

"We are members of committees that include the Greater Amman Municipality and the Ministry of Public Works and Housing for winter preparations," he added. 

AMMAN — Troubles sparked by the different religious beliefs in her homeland have prompted Zainab Naukya to launch an interfaith programme that has so far engaged 50 young people.

Utilising the power of sports to change youths’ views of others is a skill the 30-year-old woman from Uganda has acquired through Generations For Peace (GFP), a nonprofit organisation dedicated to empowering young volunteers to promote tolerance and responsible citizenship in communities experiencing different forms of conflict and violence.

“I have been involved with the GFP since 2006, but began my programme on interfaith tolerance a year-and-a-half ago. When you look at the community where I live, there are different religions and people have no respect for each other,” she said.

“Sports activities help change that. They make young people realise that they have more similarities than they think,” Naukya told The Jordan Times on Wednesday.

The activist, who in cooperation with other volunteers has trained 13 trainers, is among 39 of the “most experienced” volunteers from 10 countries who convened at GFP headquarters in Amman this week to develop their skills as peace builders, strengthen their future programmes to benefit vulnerable children, young people and adults, and transform their communities.

The gathering is part of the fifth GFP Samsung Advanced Training, which included awards for those who displayed “exceptional efforts” of volunteerism in four categories: innovation, quality, impact and sustainability.

Addressing participants and media personnel, HRH Prince Feisal, GFP founder and chairman, voiced his pride in the efforts and dedication of the volunteers, saying that they demonstrate the very core values the organisation strives to inculcate among youth.

In a time when conflicts and violence are on the rise globally, the prince underlined that the efforts of the GFP volunteers are more important than ever before.

“We see tragic violence around the world, in Beirut, Paris, Jerusalem and Hebron. In Syria, Iraq Yemen, Libya, Tunisia, Nigeria and recently in Mali and many other cities and countries,” he said.

“In this region, we are suffering from the downstream effects of the horrific violence in Syria. In Jordan and Lebanon, Generations For Peace volunteers are using the power and energy of team sport games and the creativity of art and role-plays to support refugee and host community youth to interact and build new relationships,” the prince added.

“These activities are helping refugees overcome trauma, isolation and fear. The activities build social cohesion, supporting refugees and host communities to work together, building resilience and reducing the risk of violence.”“As well as managing the downstream impacts of violence and displacement, we must also work upstream to address the causes of violence,” the prince noted. 

“This is a conflict between moderates and extremists, between respect for diversity and prejudiced intolerance, between dialogue and violence,” he stressed.

“Generations For Peace programmes around the world are fostering greater tolerance and respect for diversity. They are giving youth the opportunities for leadership, significance, autonomy in decision making; and a sense of belonging to a positive peer group and collective effort delivering concrete impact in their community,” the prince said.

Referring to the values GFP volunteers are trying to teach, Prince Feisal noted that giving young people a sense of belonging is the most significant thing they do.

“… Extremists prey on giving a sense of identity.”

Globally, the UNCHR says there are now more than 50 million refugees and internally displaced people, marking the highest number of refugees since World War II, he said.

“So this is a global crisis and many other Generations For Peace programmes are also working with refugees, displaced people and host communities,” the prince added.

The volunteers have all recently completed programmes in Ghana, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Libya, Palestine, Republic of Macedonia, Nigeria, Tunisia and Uganda.

The training is also supported by the Norwegian foreign ministry.

The awards, presented by Prince Feisal and Fadi Abu Shamat, head of corporate marketing and retail for Samsung Electronics Levant Company, recognise outstanding accomplishments.

In the last eight years, the GFP has trained and mentored more than 8,900 volunteer youth leaders in 50 countries and territories in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Europe. 

Their ongoing programmes address local issues of conflict and violence, and have touched the lives of more than 227,900 children, youth and adults.

AMMAN — Thirty Jordanian women football players came together for a friendly game in Amman on Wednesday to launch Jordan’s activities of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence campaign.

The players, from the women’s national team and the under-17 national team, were united in their goal to say no to violence against women at the Amman Club Academy in Wadi Seer.

“I am proud and happy to have had the opportunity to see this amazing performance... by our female national team football players, whom I consider as my daughters. I will never forget this day,” HRH Princess Basma said after the game.

The princess, who officially inaugurated the activities of the 16-day campaign, described the group effort by the players as “an important factor in changing the stereotypical image of Jordanian women and empowering them”.

Praising the parents of the players, she said they are key factors in supporting their daughters and encouraging them to embrace the game.

The Jordanian National Commission for Women (JNCW), the USAID Takamol Gender Programme — a USAID-funded initiative implemented by IREX in Jordan, UN agencies and the embassy of the Netherlands are supporting the 16-day campaign.

USAID Mission Director Jim Barnhart said that combating gender-based violence “is a priority for USAID globally”.

“The USAID/Jordan mission is proud to work with distinguished partners to join forces and raise awareness on this critical issue,” Barnhart told the gathering, which included university students from various governorates.

Wednesday's game, the USAID official added, is proof of Jordan’s commitment to advancing women’s participation regionally and internationally. 

“The activity is a means to empower women, promote their accessibility to safe public spaces and their active participation in society,” Barnhart said.

Turning to the players, Barnhart told them: “Every time you play football you are making a positive change in Jordan… you are contributing to changing the perspective among the audience and proving that women are equal to men in all fields.”

Nermeen Murad, chief of party of the USAID Takamol Gender Programme, said she was particularly proud of the participation of young men and women in this campaign and “that they all came together to say no to violence and to say it in a positive and constructive way”.

UN Women Representative to Jordan Giuseppe Belsito said this year’s activities “witnessed unprecedented collaboration efforts, where civil society, the UN system in Jordan and the donor community joined forces to build an effective advocacy campaign that is shedding light on all forms of gender-based violence and discrimination”.

“This year we are particularly proud to launch the 16-day campaign with a youth event… to empower them to become ambassadors for a world free of inequality and violence is the most powerful tool we have to preserve this trend,” Belsito added.

Maartje Peters, deputy head of mission and counsellor at the Dutch embassy, praised HRH Prince Ali, head of the Jordan Football Association, for promoting women’s football in Jordan and the region.

Peters said Prince Ali is a keen advocate of women's football and lobbied “FIFA to allow women to wear the hijab during international games”.

The diplomat also stressed her country’s commitment to gender equality as a key component “in our human rights programme for a good number of years”.

Louna Sahloul, captain of the Under-17 Jordanian Women’s National Team, noted that football is a popular game in the world and “we want its magic to spread in Jordan to attract world football fans to support women’s football.”

“We strive for the fever of football in the world to reach Jordan and to bring along its excitement and love of the game to our stadiums,” Sahloul said at the two-hour event.

“We, the players, pledge to do our utmost to perform well during the World Cup competition next year in hope that it will reflect the good level that our women football teams have reached regionally and worldwide,” she added, in reference to the FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup, slated to take place in Jordan in September 2016.

Yasmeen Khair, Jordan women’s national football team player and FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Jordan 2016 Ambassador, urged her generation of female football players to “feel proud that Jordan will host the U-17 World Cup because it will boost women's football in Jordan and the region”.

The colour orange, which denotes optimism, inspiration and the rejuvenation of the spirit, will be the emblem of the 16-day activities to be held in Jordan over the next couple of weeks, which include lectures, workshops, awareness campaigns and free legal consultation services.

The 16 days of activism against gender-based violence are marked globally from November 25 to December 10 every year. 

AMMAN — The Abdul Hameed Shoman Foundation (AHSF) and the Royal Film Commission–Jordan (RFC) on Wednesday signed an agreement supporting the Med Film Factory (MFF) training programme.

The programme aims to provide advanced and specialised training for Arab directors and producers working on their first or second feature film project, according to an RFC statement e-mailed to The Jordan Times.

The signing ceremony was held in the presence of HRH Princess Rym Ali, a RFC board member, and other board members of the two institutions. 

"This step comes within the lack of training programmes specialised in the Arab cinema industry, and the necessity to provide Arab filmmakers with the know-how that helps them achieve their feature narrative film projects," the statement said.

The MFF, organised by the RFC since 2011, provides participants with the necessary tools focusing on their feature films while in development. 

The MFF, which was suspended for a year due to lack of funding, has already contributed to the development of 24 film projects, as well as refining the skills of some 50 producers and 50 directors from across the Arab world between 2011 and 2014, the statement said.

In two specialised workshops, directors and producers are trained by experts using practical and focused methods enabling them to utilise the experience they gain from MFF to work on their current projects, in addition to benefiting from it for their future work, according to the RFC. 

The statement quoted AHSF CEO Valentina Qussisiya, as saying that “this support comes within the framework of the support and grants programme, launched by the foundation, to contribute to the development and enrichment of cultural contents and to encourage creativity at all levels." 

The relaunch of the MFF gives opportunities for practical training and sets up teams of Jordanian and Arab producers and directors in a way that broadens their horizons and stimulates their creative capabilities, therefore enriching the Arab cinematic scene, she added.

Highlighting the Shoman Foundation's support for the programme, RFC General Manger George David noted that the "AHSF certainly acknowledges the importance of serious cultural work." 

"MFF is open to filmmakers across the Arab world, at a time where the Arab region is in dire need... [of] a culture that reflects the reality of our society, its vitality, diversity and its relation to humanity at large far from tendencies of isolation and extremism,” David said.

"We, at the RFC, seek to support filmmakers’ capabilities and provide them with the skills that guarantee they can express themselves, tell their stories." 

The project will receive the assistance of international and Arab tutors and experts who will train the participants, in addition to local professional crew and cast for the directors’ workshop, during which participants shoot a short film inspired by their feature film project, the RFC statement said, adding that it will start receiving applications for participation next month. 

AMMAN — The Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) on Wednesday endorsed its 2016 budget, standing at JD497.270 million without registering a deficit.

Amman Mayor Aqel Biltaji, who chaired the GAM council meeting to announce the budget, said around 45 per cent of the 2016 capital expenditure was allocated for infrastructure projects.

Samer Yasin, deputy city director for financial and administrative affairs at GAM, expected the municipality's self-generated revenues in 2016 to reach JD330.370 million, representing some 66.4 per cent of GAM's total revenues in the next year.

GAM's total expenditure in 2016, JD497.270 million, will include JD184.187 million for current expenditure, some 37 per cent of the total, including salaries, rents, operational and other expenses, he noted.

"Capital expenditure, 63 per cent of the total, will amount to JD313.083 million, including development projects, expropriation and paying back loans," Yasin explained.

Around JD154 million will be allocated for development projects in 2016, marking a 44 per cent increase compared to 2015, he said, noting that GAM will use some JD47 million for paying back loans.

The Gulf Cooperation Council grant will contribute around JD59 million to GAM's budget, which the municipality will direct towards infrastructure development and implementing some traffic intersections in Amman, Yasin added.

The municipality's revenues have witnessed "remarkable increases" starting from 2013, when the current council assumed office, compared to 2012, Yasin said, noting that revenues increased by 24, 40 and 63 per cent in 2013, 2014 and 2015 respectively.

AMMAN — Demand for the dinar is expected to increase during December's holiday season, a sector insider said Wednesday.

Jordanian Exchange Association President Alaa Eddine Diraniyeh explained that remittances from Jordanian expatriates, especially those in Arab Gulf countries, as well as the activities of local fruit and vegetable importers and the local market in general, is generating demand for the dinar.

Meanwhile, he reiterated the association's repeated warnings to foreign currency traders to be wary of the euro's weak performance on the international market, noting that people's desire for "quick revenues" sometimes prompts them to buy large amounts of a certain currency without studying the market.

"Based on our observations and studies of the financial market, our advice for those seeking to buy large amounts of any currency is to slow down," Diraniyeh said, adding that sudden political or economic developments may affect the performance of foreign currencies.

As the US Federal Reserve is expected to increase its key interest rate from the current near-zero level in December, Diraniyeh noted that gold prices and the value of the euro are expected to drop further.

The Jordanian dinar's link to the dollar will cause a "minimal, but positive" effect on the national economy, he said, with the value of Jordan's euro-dominated loans forecast to drop in dinar terms as well.

AMMAN — Prices of oil derivatives for December are expected to drop by 3 to 4.5 per cent, Gas Stations Owners Association (GSOA) President Fahed Al Fayez said on Wednesday.

The prices of some fuel products are expected to decrease by around 3 per cent, while others could drop by 4 to 5 per cent, Fayez added, basing his prediction on the average prices of fuel on the international market.

The price of a barrel of Brent crude oil stood at $45.61 on Wednesday afternoon.

A government pricing committee meets monthly to adjust prices in a manner that corresponds to changes in oil prices on the international market.

Fayez noted that prices of oil derivatives have been dropping over the past two months. 

Prices of fuel products in the local market are calculated based on international oil prices, taking into account other costs such as shipment, handling and taxes.

At present, one litre of unleaded 90-octane gasoline is sold at JD0.555, while a litre of unleaded 95-octane gasoline costs JD0.720, and diesel and kerosene are sold at JD0.410 per litre.

The price of a 12-kilogramme gas cylinder, used for cooking and in winter for heating purposes, is JD7.