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AMMAN —Residents of Nayfeh neighbourhood, in Amman’s Hashemi Shamali District, complained on Tuesday that the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) is taking a long time to complete the construction of a pedestrian overpass.

The municipality had said it will be ready by October 9.

Amjad Attar, director of GAM’s construction department, told The Jordan Times that weather conditions prevented municipality workers from finishing work on the bridge, promising that it will be ready this Friday.  

Nayfeh residents say the overpass is necessary to ensure the safety of students going to the neighbourhood's school.

In previous remarks to The Jordan Times, Attar said the bridge will not be covered, but it will have a 1.8-metre-high railing so that the privacy of the houses below will be maintained.

He added that this pedestrian bridge will be the last one constructed this year.

“We have built seven bridges that have cost JD300,000 in total and rehabilitated five bridges at a cost of JD150,000,” Attar added.

AMMAN — Jordan and the World Bank signed a soft loan agreement worth $250 million based on the Finance Ministry’s financing requirements and the endorsed budget, the Planning and International Cooperation Ministry announced Monday. 

Planning and International Cooperation Minister Imad Fakhoury signed the agreement on behalf of the government during his official visit to Peru in his capacity as Jordan’s governor to the bank. He participated in the annual joint meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which were held between October 5 and 11.

The loan, meant to support the Kingdom’s budget, aims to improve the financial capabilities and gains achieved as a result of improved proficiency in the management of the energy and water sectors through two main aspects, a ministry statement said.

The first aspect is improving the financial feasibility of these sectors, and the second is increasing the gains achieved as a result of increased proficiency in both sectors.

The loan has been extended under flexible financing conditions, with a long-term repayment period of 35 years, a grace period of five years, and a low interest rate of 1.29 per cent.

The statement said the money is expected to be transferred to the general budget’s bank account within the next few weeks.

The loan would help the government implement a programme aimed at optimising water use allocations and lowering the cost of energy use in the water sector. It would also improve the management of surface water resources to meet the increasing demand for drinking water, allocate more treated water to farmers and the industry sector to help support economic growth, and limit excessive digging of wells to pump groundwater.

The water sector is the biggest consumer of electricity in the Kingdom. Subsequently, any increase in energy efficiency would help reduce costs, added the statement.

The financial return on increased efficiency in these sectors would provide the government with a freer hand in capital expenditure to invest in economic projects that can improve the quality of life for the Kingdom’s citizens.

During the signing ceremony, Fakhoury underscored the World Bank’s constant efforts in supporting the Kingdom’s development and assisting different reform programmes.

He also expressed the government’s appreciation for the bank’s support to Jordan through the past years, contributing to the development of the national economy despite ongoing regional and international political conditions and their economic and social repercussions on the Kingdom.

The World Bank’s administration expressed its willingness to continue assisting Jordan and stressed its commitment, through several institutions and tools, to providing fiscal and technical aid programmes to enable the country to achieve growth and sustainable development.

During the meetings, Fakhoury discussed economic developments in Jordan in light of the Syrian crisis and its repercussions on the national economy with bank officials, highlighting the importance of securing the necessary funds to enable the government to continue its role in hosting Syrian refugees.

In this regard, the minister called on the bank to deal with the crisis in three ways: the first is creating soft financial mechanisms to enable Jordan and other middle-income countries affected by conflicts to receive international soft loans.

The second is collecting enough money to cover the costs of the 2015 Jordan Response Plan, only one-third of which has been received. 

The third is establishing development initiatives to facilitate the movement of Jordan’s exports, especially to Europe, through providing jobs for residents of the most highly affected refugee host communities.

AMMAN — HRH Prince Feisal, the Regent, on Monday received US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and his accompanying delegation. 

Talks focused on Jordanian-US relations and the latest developments in the region, according to a Royal Court statement.

Prince Feisal highlighted Jordan's positions in support of regional and international counterterrorism efforts. 

He also underscored the Kingdom's support for efforts to arrive at political solutions for ongoing regional crises, in a manner that boosts global peace and security. 

The meeting addressed the burdens borne by Jordan as a result of hosting large number of Syrian refugees and ways to secure further international support for the Kingdom in this regard. 

McConnell expressed his support for Jordan's role in addressing the various challenges and the King's continued efforts to achieve regional peace and stability.  

Also on Monday, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh met with the visiting US Senate delegation over the “strategic Jordanian-US partnership”, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

The two sides also reviewed regional developments. 

Judeh briefed the lawmakers on the latest developments in the Palestinian territories and Israel’s continued violations, stressing the need for immediate efforts to stop the Israeli acts of aggression.    

He highlighted the role that the US can play in this regard.

Discussions also addressed counterterrorism efforts and the latest developments in Syria. 

The delegates reasserted their support of Jordan’s role to achieve peace and expressed their understanding of the Kingdom’s burdens in light of the issue of Syrian refugees and economic challenges.

AMMAN — Indian President Pranab Mukherjee left Amman on Monday after he concluded a two-day state visit to the Kingdom, during which he met with His Majesty King Abdullah and senior Jordanian officials. 

The president was seen off by Labour Minister Nidal Katamine and several senior officials and officers, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra.  

During the visit, Jordan and India signed six cooperation memoranda of understanding in various vital fields and they agreed to work for raising trade exchange to $5 billion within five years.

Delivering a lecture at the University of Jordan, where he was granted an honorary doctorate on Sunday, the president said: "India attaches high importance to its friendship with Jordan. I have come here, inspired by our common history and encouraged by our mutual goodwill, seeking to open a new chapter in our age-old relationship." 

He thanked Their Majesties King Abdullah and Queen Rania for reinforcing “the warmth and understanding” between India and Jordan.

AMMAN — Finance Minister Umayya Toukan has called on the international community to allocate more support to Jordan in order to ease the burden of the Syrian refugee crisis. 

Speaking at a recent Deauville Partnership meeting in Lima, Peru, Toukan stressed the importance of unifying international efforts to meet the financial needs of countries affected by the Syrian crisis and to rebuild countries that have experienced massive destruction as a result of military conflict, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

Toukan made the remarks during round-table discussions held by the World Bank Group and attended by Governor of the Central Bank of Jordan Ziad Fariz with the participation of the Islamic Development Bank, Petra reported, citing a ministry statement released Monday.

The meetings took place last Thursday and brought together finance ministers, international financial institutions and international organisations of the Deauville Partnership with Arab Countries in Transition.

During the meetings, participants voiced their understanding of the difficulties Jordan bears as a result of the deterioration of political situations in the region and the increased influx of refugees into the Kingdom.  

The minister said the Kingdom welcomes initiatives that aim to provide international support to affected countries, including Jordan, in order to minimise the repercussions affecting national economies.

The partnership is made up of Canada, Egypt, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Libya, Kuwait, Morocco, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Turkey, the UAE, the UK, the US and the EU. The financial institutions and organisations involved in the partnership are those committed to supporting reform in Egypt, Jordan, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia, according to the World Bank.

AMMAN — Planning and International Cooperation Minister Imad Fakhoury, during his participation at the annual meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund held in Peru, delivered a letter from His Majesty King Abdullah to Peru's President Ollanta Humala.

In the letter, King Abdullah stressed his keenness on developing bilateral ties at all levels, according to a Planning Ministry statement.

Fakhoury met with Peruvian officials and discussed means to enhance economic, investment and tourism relations, in addition to exchanging expertise, as Jordan and Peru are middle-income countries facing similar economic and development challenges, the statement added. 

AMMAN — As prices of some vegetables have been on the rise over the past weeks, the Consumer Protection Society (CPS) accused retailers of being “greedy” and using “baseless excuses” to hike costs on shoppers, a charge dismissed as baseless by a government official and a major supplier. 

In a statement, made available to The Jordan Times Monday, CPS President Mohammad Obeidat called on consumers to boycott vegetables that see a sharp increase in prices and to reduce their purchases of items considered relatively expensive as households need to balance their spending budgets. 

Obeidat called on the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply to set a cap on the prices of some vegetables such as tomato, zucchini and cornflower, claiming that traders are charging exorbitant prices to increase their profit at the pretext that production at this time of the year is usually lower. 

Ministry Spokesperson Yanal Barmawi, however, said prices are currently lower than a week ago as production in certain areas has started to offset the drop in other agricultural areas, adding that prices are set to continue a downtrend in the coming few days. 

“If prices go up in a way that is not justified, the ministry will cap the prices,” Barmawi said, indicating that the hot spell that hit the Kingdom some six weeks ago has affected production quantities. 

Last week, a kilogramme of tomatoes was sold in many places in Amman and other cities at JD1.25, while now it costs JD0.85, said Zuhair Jweihan, president of the Jordan Exporters and Producers Association for Fruits and Vegetables. 

Jweihan argued that Obeidat is offering “inaccurate information” on the market, noting that vegetable prices have seen tangible increases not only in Jordan but elsewhere in the region due to the hot weather. 

Over 20,000 green houses for vegetables in Mafraq were damaged by the hot spell, he indicated, adding that vegetable supplies at this time of year usually drop due to the shift in the production season from Mafraq to other areas such as the southern desert and Wadi Mujib. 

In the coming two weeks, prices will go back to normal, he said. 

Commenting on CPS’ call to boycott expensive vegetables, Jweihan, who owns farms in the Southern Ghor, said consumers should reduce the amount of vegetables they purchases.

The merchant noted that shipments to Gulf countries, which he said are major importers of Jordanian produce, have gone down sharply due to the decline in production. 

Barmawi agreed, saying that farmers would avoid extra costs to ship to other countries because prices in the domestic market are currently feasible for them. 

Jweihan noted that Jordan’s production of vegetables is around 2.5 million tonnes a year, of which nearly 950,000 tonnes are exported. 

Jordan is ranked ninth internationally in terms of vegetable production, he said.  

AMMAN — The US has extended $4.5 billion in humanitarian assistance since the outbreak of the Syrian crisis, of which $600 million has gone to refugee-burdened Jordan, a senior US official said on Monday.

Anne C. Richard, US assistant secretary of state for population, refugees, and migration, said that the $600 million to Jordan has been spent on refugee-related matters through the UN system, including the
UNHCR and the World Food Programme. 

Under the US Refugee Admissions Programme, Richard said that 70,000 refugees from around the world have been brought to the US, adding that the programme for Syrian refugees has been enlarged.

“We brought 1,700 Syrians to the US last year. The president has announced that the US will help bring 10,000 Syrians this year,” the official added.

“It is not a big piece but we try to bring the most vulnerable Syrians, including small children, wives of missing or dead husbands, and people with medical needs and the disabled so that they can receive medication in the US.” 

Asked if there is a right-wing coalition in the US opposing the asylum programme for Syrians, Richard said, “There has traditionally been. My position is to keep the right and left together supporting the programme. I am seeing that some Democrats are trying to bring more refugees to the US and the Republicans are asking questions about security.”

“The Republicans neither oppose the programme nor [are they] against bringing Syrian refugees to the US. They ask tough questions regarding whether the refugees are anti-America or can be potential terrorists,” she explained.

However, Richard acknowledged that the process of taking in refugees to the US takes a long time due to intensive security checks, saying that the process on average takes 18 to 24 months.

“We are criticised that our process is slow and we are trying to speed it up. But there are issues related to security we cannot ignore. We have to make sure that all refugees coming to the US are innocent.”

Richard also commended Jordan’s humanitarian assistance to Syrian refugees, pledging constant US support to the Kingdom. 

Richard’s remarks came on the sidelines of a field visit on Monday to a UNICEF-run school in Marka District which the US government supports.

Jordanian, Iraqi and Syrian students are enrolled at the school, where they are offered safe access to quality services under the “Makani” [my space] approach.

A Makani centre, according to the UNICEF Jordan country office, offers a comprehensive approach to service provision covering alternative education, skill-building programmes and psychosocial support. 

Each Makani centre should have a community outreach component which is linked with the services being provided there.

Also on Monday, Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh met with Richard  and discussed bilateral ties and the consequences of the Syrian refugee crisis on Jordan, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

AMMAN — The role of lawmakers in enacting legislation that takes population into account as a driver for socio-economic development is the highlight of a conference being held in the capital this week.

Parliamentarians and experts from 24 Arab and international countries are looking into the demographic reality of Middle East and North Africa states and ways to turn them into advantages.

Held under the title "Arab Parliaments: the Perspective of Population and Sustainable Development Goals 2030", the three-day event is providing a platform to discuss legislative shortcomings in relation to population and reproductive health, and means to overcome them.

The gathering, which opened on Sunday, also aims at strengthening parliamentarians' knowledge of population issues in Arab countries within the new 2030 agenda for sustainable development and addressing the role of lawmakers in supporting population-related laws, especially those governing reproductive health and ways to designate financial resources for population programmes, according to organisers.

HRH Princess Basma, UNFPA goodwill ambassador, underlined the importance for Arab countries to abide by the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), which focused on development, equality and the elimination of poverty and unemployment.

She stressed Jordan's commitment to realising the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially those related to women empowerment and reproductive health.

The 17 SDGs come into effect on January 1, 2016, replacing the MDGs set in 2000.

Speaking at the meeting, Higher Population Council (HPC) Secretary General Sawsan Majali cited the differences among countries in achieving sustainable development despite the strides made by Arab countries towards the MDGs.

For his part, Marwan Hmoud, secretary general of the Forum of Arab Parliamentarians on Population and Development (FAPPD), said population issues dominate the top priorities of the forum in terms of legislation and linking the demographic dimension with sustainable development with all its humanitarian and socio-economic outcomes.

Participants at the meeting are also focusing on women’s empowerment, gender-based violence and human trafficking as some of the most currently "pressing" issues in the region.

The conference is organised by the International Planned Parenthood Federation/the Arab World Region, FAPPD and the HPC.

AMMAN — HRH Princess Sumaya, president of the Princess Sumaya University for Technology (PSUT) board of trustees, on Monday attended a conference marking the conclusion of the MEDAWEL Tempus project.

The conference showcased the most important results of the project to improve student services offered in Southern Mediterranean universities in Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, and Palestine, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Princess Sumaya, during her speech, said PSUT is involved in many projects and programmes that aim to involve students in university life.