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AMMAN — King’s Military Adviser and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff Gen. Mashal Al Zaben met on Monday with French Minister of Defence and Veterans Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian and an accompanying delegation.

Zaben and the French official discussed the latest developments on regional and global levels and issues of mutual concern. 

AMMAN — Generations For Peace (GFP) and the Ministry of Education signed on Monday a memorandum of understanding to renew and expand their collaboration to address the issue of violence in schools.

The project trains teachers to reduce violence in schools using sport and arts-based activities, according to a GFP statement.

“With the increased overcrowding and pressures on our schools due to the Syrian refugee crisis, we must continue to reduce violence in the classroom and ensure that teachers can focus on delivering quality education to benefit the future of all students,” the statement quoted HRH Prince Feisal, GFP founder and chairman, as saying.

Education Minister Mohammad Thneibat said the project is “positively transforming teacher and student responses to conflict in our schools”.

The memo expands the programme from the current locations in Irbid, Ruseifa and Amman to include schools in Karak and Ajloun.

AMMAN — Experts said on Monday that pressing regional environmental challenges, including water insecurity, climate change and arid lands management — all threats with visible impact — require collective work for immediate action. 

They stated that despite the universality of the newly adopted 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, national and regional action plans must “efficiently” address shared environmental and water scarcity challenges. 

In remarks delivered on his behalf by HRH Princess Sumaya, HRH Prince Hassan, chairman of the West Asia North Africa (WANA) Institute, highlighted the interconnectedness between sustainable development and the right for safe and equal access to resources.

At a conference organised by the WANA Institute on the environmental Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), he stressed the need for Arab countries to develop a customised roadmap that takes into account their particular needs and challenges, citing poor access to adequate water and sanitation as one of the major obstacles to sustainable development in the region.

However, the prince insisted that this could be overcome by more efficient use and management of existing water resources as well as the development of regulations that enhance accountability. He also emphasised the importance of finding affordable solutions for wastewater treatment.

Water Minister Hazem Nasser said drafting local and regional action plans concerning the 2030 agenda should focus mainly on challenges with immediate impact, such as water scarcity.

He also called for taking into consideration the demographic shifting of populations due to political turmoil, as well as the vulnerability of countries to the impacts of climate change, some of which are already suffering the consequences.

Sheikh Abdul Aziz Nuaimi, a conservationist and environmental adviser to the Ajman government, also highlighted the significance of water scarcity, citing it as a contributing factor to other major problems such as food insecurity and hunger. 

He referred to the increase in individuals suffering undernourishment in West Asia from 18 million in 2009 to 21 million in 2012.

At the same time, the activist called for maximising the role of religious leaders in spreading awareness on environmental issues and changing behaviour towards sustainability efforts.

He also suggested investing in the potential of the younger generation to develop technology-based solutions addressing regional environmental challenges and promoting a culture of sustainability.

According to Costanza Farina, UNESCO’s representative to Jordan and chair of the post-2015 Focus Group in Jordan, the true test of commitment to the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda will be its implementation. 

She stressed the need for understanding and ownership of the new goals.

The representative added that local consultations over the agenda during the last three years highlighted the urgency of addressing quality education, as well as the need for a more inclusive approach to addressing social and economic disparities and the importance of environmental protection. 

Farina noted that the post-2015 Focus Group has been involved with governmental and international agencies in the process of mainstreaming the SDGs into Jordan’s national planning.

German Ambassador to Jordan Birgitta Siefker-Eberle cited the “Improvement of Communal Water Efficiency through Cooperation with Religious Authorities”, implemented by the German Development Agency (GIZ), as an example of efforts to change behaviour towards sustainability.

“Around 3 million people attend weekly Friday sermons at Jordan’s mosques,” she said, adding that the project aims to reach and educate targeted groups on more efficient use of water.

The ambassador added that the project is also developing teaching material, in cooperation with the Education Ministry, for religious instruction in secondary schools as well as at the university level.

A number of policy makers, scholars, environmentalists and civil society organisations are taking part in the forum, which seeks to encourage interdisciplinary discussion to enhance sustainable development cooperation in regards to pressing regional environmental challenges. 

The two-day forum is carried out in cooperation with the GIZ and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.

AMMAN – Jordan must not be left alone to carry the burden of hosting refugees, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said Monday, stressing that the limited resources in the Kingdom are not enough to serve this great number of people.

During a visit to the Church of St Mary Mother of the Church in Marka, Valls took a firsthand look at the situation of Iraqi refugee families who have taken up residence at the church.

The French premier said he sees in the families hope for a better future, stressing that Christians are an integral part of the Middle East and should not leave the region.

Iraqi families that met with Valls said it is difficult for them to return to Iraq under the current circumstances, calling for increasing support for Jordan to enable it to provide them with decent housing.

At the church, the premier was greeted by Iraqi children in song, and he distributed balls and jerseys to the youths. 

He also received a painting by an Iraqi child depicting the migration of Iraqi families from the city of Mosul after its fall to Daesh. 

Wael Suleiman, director of Caritas Jordan, said the organisation’s stance on peace in the region is clear. 

“The French premier asked what more France can do for our region, and our response is clear… support host countries like Jordan, increase the number of schools dealing with the refugees, work on Jordan’s infrastructure, and make a concerted political effort to bring about peace in the region,” he told The Jordan Times. 

The director also stressed that the Jordanian people are facing difficulties as a result of prolonged conflicts in the region, and the lack of job opportunities and water.

According to Suleiman, there are currently 1,400 Iraqi children studying at schools in Amman and a total of 8,000 Iraqi Christians who fled Mosul living in churches and houses in the Kingdom.

Father Rifat Bader, director of the Catholic Centre for Studies and Media, told The Jordan Times: “The international community needs to help Jordan provide refugees with schools, food and medical services. The refugees are looking to the future, although there are no signs of hope on the horizon. The key solution is to resolve the situation inside Iraq and Syria.”

Father Khalil Jaar, director of the Messengers of Peace Association and pastor of the Church of St Mary Mother of the Church, emphasised that for many Iraqis both options of returning home or staying in Jordan are “impossible”.

“The European countries could have cooperated with host countries to accept specific numbers of refugees instead of waiting until this unorganised wave of refugee immigration starting moving to Europe,” he told The Jordan Times. 

Twelve Iraqi families currently live in his church in Marka, with a further 400 Christian and Muslim Iraqi and Syrian families nearby being taken care of by the house of worship.

“We provide them with food and drink, and we manage to provide the children with education inside the church,” Jaar added, noting that 210 students benefit from the church’s educational services. 

The pastor said that it is he who personally teaches the children, encouraging them to engage in various activities from 3pm until 6:30pm in order to keep them off the streets. He added that the church sends buses to transport the children to and from their lessons.

Iraqi refugee Raad Fathallah told The Jordan Times that he will be able to feel a sense of stability when his request to move to Europe is approved. 

The father of two said that although Jordan welcomed his family after fleeing the violence in Mosul city, he feels that the best future for his children lies abroad. 

“The conditions we have lived through from the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime until today have been difficult. Terrorism has plagued my country and there are many armed gangs and kidnappings, which has forced my children to forego their high school and university education and leave Iraq,” he said while waiting to receive the French prime minister. 

“My children enjoyed their education. They want to study and I want to secure this for them,” he added, maintaining that their current situation is “unstable”. 

The refugee stated that he feels there is no hope for stability in Iraq and that living in Jordan is difficult as Iraqis no longer receive their salaries from their home country, saying “then how can we live in Jordan? I don’t know how much longer I can stay here.” 

AMMAN — MP Mustafa Amawi on Monday invited representatives of the Jordan News Agency, Petra, the Jordan Radio and Television Corporation, chief editors of Jordanian dailies and weeklies, as well as representatives of other local media outlets to attend the House committee meeting that will be held on Tuesday to offer their feedback and views on the draft elections law.

Amawi, head of the Lower House Legal Committee, said the meeting, which will be at 2pm in Parliament, is a chance to hear their views, pointing out that the invitation is not limited to any specific media outlet.

The committee has launched a national dialogue to get acquainted with the views of different sectors of the community on the bill, to be taken into account during House deliberations, Petra reported.

AMMAN — Edraak, the first nonprofit Arab massive open online course (MOOC) platform of the Queen Rania Foundation (QRF), on Monday launched “Learn English: Conversational Skills for Beginners”.

The free online English language learning course is developed and run in partnership with the British Council, Crescent Petroleum and Cerego, according to an Edraak statement.

The five-week course, which starts in November, focuses on conversational language and is aimed at beginner and elementary level Arabic-speaking learners.

Haifa Dia Al Attia, CEO of the Queen Rania Foundation, noted that the rapid enrollment demonstrates the huge demand for English language competencies in the region as the ability to understand and communicate in English can open new professional opportunities, according to the statement.

“Edraak’s content strategy is primarily demand driven and in a poll of our learners, around 50 per cent favoured an introductory English language MOOC,” she added. 

AMMAN — Health Minister Ali Hiasat on Monday honoured several senior citizens in recognition of their continued efforts for Jordan’s progress and development.

At a ceremony organised by the National Council for Family Affairs in cooperation with the United Nations Population Fund to mark International Day of Older Persons, Hiasat stressed the importance of caring for elderly people, pointing out the ministry’s work with international, government and non-governmental entities to provide better health services for this segment, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra.

In 1990 the UN General Assembly voted to establish October 1 as International Day of Older Persons.  

AMMAN — The Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies (RIIFS) and the Arab Thought Forum (ATF) are organising a lecture on the Moroccan experience in combating terrorism on Tuesday at 5:30pm, under the patronage of  HRH Prince Hassan, president of the RIIFS and the ATF.

The lecture will be delivered by Ahmad Abbadi, secretary general of Morocco’s Arrabita Al Muhammadiyah Foundation for Scholars, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Monday. 

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday received French Prime Minister Manuel Valls and they discussed the ways through which the international community could support Jordan to bear the burden of Syrian refugees, a Royal Court statement said.

The meeting, attended by HRH Prince Feisal and Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour, covered French economic support to Jordan and assistance to develop infrastructure in targeted areas, along with means to enhance investment promotion.

His Majesty stressed the importance of reaching a comprehensive political solution to the Syrian crisis that ends the bloodshed and violence and preserves the peace and unity of Syrian territories.

The meeting was attended by Royal Court Chief Fayez Tarawneh, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh, King’s Military Adviser and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff Gen. Mashal Al Zaben and King’s Office Director Jafar Hassan, along with senior officials and diplomats from both sides. 

Jordan and France on Sunday signed three soft loan agreements to finance infrastructure, water and energy projects in the Kingdom.

The agreements were announced later in the day during a joint press conference between Ensour and Valls, who was in Amman as part of a regional tour.

The first deal, of 150 million euros, will support the government’s water policies, Ensour said.

According to a Planning Ministry statement sent to The Jordan Times last week, the first loan will support the state budget, and is earmarked for projects to improve the water sector in accordance with the economic blueprint “Jordan 2025”. The loan is extended for 17 years with a 4-year grace period.

The second agreement, of 48 million euros, will be used to finance the green energy corridor, Ensour said, adding that the project will be synchronising electricity produced from renewable sources, such as solar and wind, with the grid.

The Planning Ministry said the green energy corridor will allow the National Electric Power Company to connect renewable energy projects, mainly wind and solar, to the national electricity grid. 

Ensour noted that the third soft loan agreement, worth 37.8 million euros, will be allocated to the Wadi Al Arab Water Conveyance project, which will pump drinking water to Irbid Governorate.

The three soft loans will be extended by French Development Agency.

During the conference, Valls commended the advanced Jordanian-French relations, noting that the French investments in the Kingdom amounted to
1.5 billion euros. 

“Solidarity, trust and commitment is the title of Amman-France relation,” he said.

The French premier also said that Jordan’s security and stability is a major priority for his country, expressing appreciation for the resource-limited Kingdom’s assistance to non-stop waves of refugees.

Asked whether there is coordination between France and Russia in Syria, Valls said, “No. We only coordinate with members of the anti-Daesh coalition.”

Stressing the need of a comprehensive political solution to Syria’s war, Valls noted that embattled President Bashar Assad “cannot be in any way part of a solution to the Syrian crisis”.

He added that there are around 1,700 French citizens fighting alongside Daesh in Syria and Iraq, adding that the terrorist organisation has plans to attack France and other European countries.

Valls also expressed concerns over the rising violence in Gaza and the West Bank, saying that his country supports the revival of direct peace talks between Palestinians and Israelis that can lead to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. 

AMMAN — Jordan and India on Sunday signed six agreements and memoranda of understanding (MoU) in various fields of cooperation.

The agreements were signed in the presence of Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour and Indian President Pranab Mukherjee, covering cooperation in the maritime transportation sector and a memorandum between the Jordan Institute of Diplomacy and the Indian Foreign Service Institute.

Another deal was signed between the Jordan News Agency, Petra, and the Press Trust of India, in addition to signing the executive programme for cultural exchange between the Jordanian and Indian governments.

Also, an MoU was signed between the ICT Ministry and its Indian counterpart to cooperate in ICT and electronics fields, and another between the Jordan Standards and Metrology Organisation and its Indian peer to cooperate in assessment techniques. 

Ensour and Mukherjee discussed bilateral ties and regional issues of mutual interest, Petra reported.

Ensour said that Jordan encourages establishing joint projects in the fields of manufacturing and marketing pharmaceuticals, renewable energy and ICT, in addition to the garment industry, noting that  such ventures are entitled to benefit from Jordan's free trade agreements with the US, Europe and Arab countries.

Mukherjee stressed the importance of moving forward in enhancing bilateral economic and trade ties, calling on Jordanian businesspeople and the private sector to invest in India, which will be spending a trillion dollars on its infrastructure projects. 

In a related development, India’s Ambassador to Jordan Anil Trigunayat told The Jordan Times that India has extended a line of credit of $100 million to the Kingdom for promoting trade and economic cooperation. 

The ambassador made the remarks on the sidelines of a ceremony held at the University of Jordan to award the Indian president an honorary doctorate.

Also on Sunday, the Indian president and an accompanying delegation met separately with senators and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Judeh.

According to Petra, the meetings were a continuation of the talks Mukherjee held with His Majesty King Abdullah on Saturday.

Senate President Abdur-Ra’uf S. Rawabdeh, accompanied by several senators, met with the visiting leader and discussed how best to take ties between the chamber and its Indian counterpart to a new level.

In his remarks at the meeting, Rawabdeh outlined progress in Jordan’s reform drive, highlighting amendments made to the Constitution, which led to the establishment of the Constitutional Court and the Independent Elections Commission, as well as several political reform-oriented laws and others concerned with promoting and safeguarding democracy, freedom and respect for human rights.

Mukherjee voiced his country’s interest in strengthening bilateral relations, as agreed during the discussions he held with His Majesty. 

The Indian president outlined the democratic experience in India, its constitution, parliamentary government, as well as the council of state, which consists of 245 members, and the 552-strong parliament. 

During the meeting, Mukherjee and Judeh discussed the importance of seizing the available opportunities to boost economic cooperation, increasing trade exchange, which currently stands at $1.89 billion and is planned to be upped to $5 billion in five years, in addition to establishing joint projects in various fields.

Judeh and Mukherjee reviewed recent developments in Palestine, with focus on the continuous Israeli provocations. The minister stressed that the solution lies in implementing the two-state solution and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state within the June 4, 1967 lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Discussions also covered developments in several countries, including Libya, Yemen, Iraq and Syria, with Judeh highlighting the importance of finding political resolutions that preserve the security and stability of these countries.

Mukherjee praised the role Jordan is playing, under the leadership of King Abdullah, in achieving security and stability in region, voicing India’s support for such endeavours.