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AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah and Saudi King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud on Sunday reaffirmed the strategic ties between the two kingdoms.

In a telephone call, the two leaders expressed their commitment to strengthening Jordanian-Saudi relations in all spheres, a Royal Court statement said.

King Abdullah and King Salman also discussed a number of regional issues.

His Majesty thanked the Saudi leader for his stance in support of Arab causes, the statement said.

In late October, the King received an invitation from King Salman to attend the fourth Summit of South American and Arab Countries, which will be hosted by Riyadh between November 10 and 11. 

AMMAN — Figures released in the 2016 state budget will be exact and realistic, as the government has no interest in “embellishing” them, Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour said Sunday.

Presiding over a General Budget Department advisory council meeting, Ensour called for speeding up procedures to prepare the 2016 draft general budget law and the draft independent public agencies budget law for the Cabinet to endorse them and refer them to Parliament.

Participants discussed the most important components of the draft laws and stressed the need to control public expenditure and to implement development projects that serve the national economy, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

One of the most important components of the 2016 draft budget is its conformity with the national programme for economic and fiscal reform, including the governorate development programme and the executive development programme for the years 2016 to 2018.

Petra said the 2016 budget can be described as development-centred, with the increase of capital expenditures that focus on the energy, transport, water, health, education, infrastructure, governorate development and information technology sectors.

At a press conference on Saturday, Ensour reiterated that the economy and the dinar remain strong.

He also noted the draft state budget law will show that the deficit is under control, revenues are higher and spending is up slightly due to natural growth.

The premier added that hosting around 1.4 million Syrians has had a negative impact on the trade balance, as the Kingdom has had to import more goods to meet the needs of the rising population.

AMMAN — Jordan on Sunday stressed the importance of the upcoming Resilience Development Forum in producing a joint regional agenda to enhance the resilience of countries affected by the Syrian crisis.

At a meeting with EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides, Planning and International Cooperation Minister Imad Fakhoury said the November 8-9 forum, to be held at the Dead Sea, will enable governments in the region to identify their priorities and point out gaps in funding at the national level and the obstacles hindering the implementation of response plans to the refugee crisis.

The forum, organised by the UNDP under the theme “Integrating Responses, Expanding Partnerships”, is also aimed at finding effective solutions to funding and assistance issues, Fakhoury said, according to a ministry statement.

The minister also briefed Stylianides on the recently launched Jordan Response Plan 2016-2018, stressing the need to ensure it is sufficiently funded to enable the Kingdom to cover the needs of Syrian refugees and ensure the resilience of host communities.

He urged the EU official to assist Jordan in securing the required funds for the plan’s success.

In addition, Fakhoury highlighted the Kingdom’s political and economic reform efforts, including its Jordan 2025 blueprint which outlines socio-economic development priorities for the next decade.

Stylianides said the EU is impressed with Jordan’s reform endeavour, describing it as a model to be followed in the region.

The EU, he noted, is aware of the burden Jordan is shouldering due to the Syrian refugee crisis, adding that he will convey the Kingdom’s point of view to officials in Brussels in order to examine means to increase support for Jordan. 

AMMAN — The Senate on Sunday expressed its appreciation for His Majesty King Abdullah’s efforts at regional and international levels to prevent Israel from continuing its provocative measures against the Palestinians.

In a statement carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra, the Senate also lauded the King’s actions to put a stop to recurrent attacks on Islamic and Christian sites, especially Al Haram Al Sharif/Al Aqsa Mosque, in Jerusalem.

Senators commended the positive results of Jordan’s efforts, which led Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to announce Tel Aviv’s respect for the Hashemite custodianship over holy sites in Jerusalem.

The Israeli government also announced its commitment to maintaining the status quo at Al Aqsa Mosque, with no division whatsoever and no restrictions preventing Muslim worshippers from praying there.

Moreover, the Israeli government adhered to Jordan’s request to install cameras that document Israeli violations and acts of aggression against Palestinians and Al Aqsa Mosque for the whole world to see, the statement said. 

The Upper House described Israeli actions against holy sites and the Palestinian people as terror acts which the international community should stand firmly against, holding Israel accountable for its crimes.

In the statement, the Senate also stressed the importance of establishing an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital in accordance with Jordan’s consistent stance on the issue.

In addition, it called on the international community to shoulder its responsibilities in protecting holy sites in Jerusalem.

Also on Sunday, Senate President Faisal Fayez met with US Ambassador to Jordan Alice G. Wells, who congratulated him on his recent appointment.

Fayez commended the advanced bilateral relations between Jordan and the US, calling for more economic support to the Kingdom in order to enable it face the repercussions of the Syrian crisis, Petra reported.

The Senate president said the “huge number” of Syrian refugees has affected many sectors, especially education, health, water, energy and infrastructure.

He also outlined reform efforts in Jordan across different political, economic and social spheres.

AMMAN — The ICT Association of Jordan (int@j) on Sunday said incentives announced by the government will significantly boost the ICT sector, which contributes some 12 per cent to the country’s economy.

“These are unprecedented incentives that will greatly support the sector,” int@j CEO Khaled Hudhud said in a statement to The Jordan Times.

He stressed the importance of government support to the sector, which will increase Jordan’s exports and competitiveness amidst the turmoil in the region.

Under the decision, announced on Saturday, services related to software development, mobile apps, website portals, outsourcing, digital content and electronic games, information technology training and e-learning will be exempted from sales tax and customs duties. 

Goods and services necessary for ICT services will also be subject to a zero sales tax rate. Income tax rates on such services will be reduced by 30 per cent for 10 years, which means companies pay 14 per cent instead of 20 per cent as income tax.

In addition, minimum required capital restrictions for investments by non-Jordanians in the sector were removed.

Abed Shamlawi, an ICT consultant, told The Jordan Times in a recent interview that start-ups and entrepreneurs prefer to operate in markets where there are no requirements for high capital investment.

He stressed that removing the minimum capital restriction for investments by non-Jordanians is a great step towards making Jordan a hub for ICT start-ups.

AMMAN — The Cabinet on Sunday approved a new system to evaluate the performance of senior government officials upon recommendations by the Civil Service Council. 

The evaluation process will be based on measurable indicators that aim to guarantee accountability and professionalism, Minister of Public Sector Development Khleef Al Khawaldeh told The Jordan Times.

Noting that the system was prepared by the ministry, Khawaldeh said it is seeks to improve the performance of civil servants who occupy leading positions such as secretaries general of ministries and directors of government agencies. 

The process of monitoring the performance of senior officials also seeks to achieve the financial goals of the government in regard to expenditure control and revenue generation, the minister added. 

Under the system, he said, by the end of every year, an evaluation will be conducted to measure the implementation of plans these officials prepared at the start of the year based on their department’s strategies.

Khawaldeh said the evaluation encompasses five main pillars: achievement and development of organisational goals; financial performance related to spending control and maximising revenues; reports of oversight entities; achievement levels of plans prepared by officials; and excellence indicators such as the King Abdullah II Award for Excellence in Government Performance and Transparency. 

“Through this new process, the government seeks to guarantee that senior civil servants contribute to the development of their departments and that they remain in their positions according to their performance,” he noted. 

The minister said the Cabinet also approved regulations for developing organisational structures for government agencies to be in line with the 2014-2016 executive programme to develop public sector performance. 

AMMAN — Lower House Speaker Atef Tarawneh on Sunday notified the Independent Elections Commission (IEC) of the vacant seat in Karak’s 2nd District after the death of Deputy Eteiwi Majali, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Majali died on October 24 due to a terminal illness.

According to Article 88 of the Constitution, the Lower House must inform the IEC of an MP’s death within one month from the date of its occurrence.

The IEC is now constitutionally required to hold a by-election in Karak’s 2nd District to fill the vacant seat within two months of receiving the notification.

Four members of the current Lower House have died: Majali, Mohammad Khasawneh (Irbid, 2nd District), Mohammad Mahseiri (Amman, 2nd District) and Mahmoud Hweimel (Karak, 4th District).

A fifth seat was left vacant when deputy Talal Sharif (Amman, 1st District) was expelled from the House after attempting to shoot his colleague MP Qusai Dmeisi (Zarqa, 4th District) in 2013.

MP Nayef Leimoun (Karak, 6th District) lost his seat after the Lower House received a court decision voiding the district’s election; Leimoun was re-elected by default in April 2013, according to Petra.

AMMAN — Government pathologists on Sunday said they will have to wait for crime lab results to determine whether a 25-year-old divorced woman, who was  reportedly murdered and burnt by her brother over the weekend, was alive when she was set ablaze.

The victim, a mother of four children from two marriages, was struck on the head with a shovel and then set ablaze, allegedly by her 40-year-old brother at their home in Irbid Governorate late Friday night.

The suspect told investigators that he waited until he made sure his sister was dead and her body was completely burnt before surrendering to authorities, claiming family honour as his motive, official sources said, quoting initial questioning of the suspect by investigators.

“We have sent blood and tissue samples to the crime lab to determine the percentage of carboxyhaemoglobin. If it exceeds 10 per cent, then the woman was alive when she was set ablaze,” a senior official source told The Jordan Times.

It will take around a month for the crime lab to return the results to the Irbid National Institute of Forensic Medicine (INIFM) to help them determine the cause of death, according to the official source.

The autopsy, performed by Ali Shotar and a team of INIFM pathologists, also revealed that the victim received a heavy blow to the head that fractured her skull and caused internal bleeding, the source told The Jordan Times.

Criminal Court Prosecutor General Qahtan Qawaqzeh on Saturday charged the suspect, a bus driver, with premeditated murder in connection with the death and burning of his divorced sister.

In his initial testimony to Qawaqzeh the suspect claimed that his sister “brought the family disgrace because she got divorced twice over allegedly illicit behaviour and was known in their village for her bad behaviour”, according to judicial sources.

The suspect reportedly told the prosecutor “that he found no other solution but to kill his sister to cleanse his family’s honour and stop people from talking about his reputation and that of his family”, the sources maintained.

AMMAN — Chile plans to coordinate with Jordan on hosting 50 to 100 Syrian refugee families, Chilean Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Edgardo Riveros said Sunday.

In an interview with The Jordan Times during his one-day visit to Jordan, Riveros noted that his country will also coordinate with the International Organisation of Migration and concerned UN agencies.

Aware of the burdens Jordan is facing as a result of hosting refugees, Chile seeks to host Syrian families and integrate them into society, the vice minister noted.

“Chile offers to provide refugees with the suitable environment to integrate them into society, by teaching them the language, [and] providing them with education as well as income-generating work opportunities that will allow them financial independency,” he said.

“It is an offer that depends on a short- and long-term development view,” Riveros added, citing “successful” past experiences with a group of Palestinian families hosted as refugees.

Chile is home to a good number of communities of Arab origin, according to the official.

During his visit, Riveros met with Foreign Ministry Secretary General Mohammad Yassin and discussed means of enhancing social, economic and political ties.

“Jordan is the most stable country in the region, a matter that gives it a strategic importance,” he said, highlighting the quest for peace and stability as the most common vision between the two countries.

He cited peacekeeping forces from the two countries in Haiti as an example of that shared vision.

Economics 

So far, bilateral trade is still modest, but there are “strong” possibilities for the future, the vice minister noted.

Chile can enhance its exports of agricultural products to Jordan, including wine and dried fruits, with a “wide” market for the latter in Jordan. 

On the other hand, Jordan can enhance its economic presence in Chile, mainly in the textile industry, according to Riveros.

Chile exports products worth some $10 million to Jordan annually, mainly paper pulp, wood, copper, frozen sea food and chemicals. 

Jordan’s exports to Chile are only worth around $1 million per year, with textiles constituting the major product, according to the embassy of Chile in Amman.

Clean energy 

Although Chile faces challenges in generating power, its natural resources allow for utilising the environment as a clean source of energy, including solar, wind and geothermal energy, Riveros said.

“Chile is ready to share its expertise in the field of clean power,” he added, highlighting his country’s efforts to decrease carbon emissions to eliminate the impacts of climate change.

Riveros’ visit to Jordan is part of a regional tour that also includes Morocco, Algeria and Saudi Arabia, where he will participate in the November 10-11 Summit of South American-Arab Countries.

“We hope for the summit to provide an opportunity to enhance ties with the Arab world,” he said.

AMMAN — A Bulgarian delegation on Sunday visited the Jordan Investment Commission (JIC) and was acquainted with investment opportunities in the Kingdom.

JIC President Montaser Oqlah briefed the delegation, comprising 35 representatives of commercial and industrial sectors in Bulgaria, on the facilities and incentives the commission offers to foreign investors.

Jordan welcomes all investors — Arabs and non-Arabs — and has adopted several by-laws that make the lives of foreign investors easier, Oqlah said.

“Investments in the Kingdom’s six development areas are subject to a 5 per cent income tax and a 7 per cent sales tax, while they are completely exempt from customs duties,” he highlighted.

The JIC president also told the delegates that Jordan offers investment opportunities in many “vital sectors” such as the IT, medical services, renewable energy, garment and pharmaceutical industries.

“Jordan enables foreign investors to benefit from free trade agreements it has signed with the US and the European Union, in addition to benefiting from the Greater Arab Free Trade Agreement, through which investors can reach more than 1.2 billion consumers,” he added.

The Investment Law stipulates the establishment of an investment window, based within the JIC, which is supposed to provide services to investors and enable them to obtain all necessary licences to start their businesses in the country, Oqlah said.

For their part, the delegates praised the investment climate in the Kingdom and the incentives and facilities provided to investors.

Following the meeting, the delegation visited the Investment Window which houses representatives of various institutions that potential investors may need to see to start their businesses in the Kingdom.