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AMMAN — Lower House Speaker Atef Tarawneh on Thursday met separately with President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Anne Brasseur and Speaker of the Canadian Senate Leo Housakos.

The meetings were on the sidelines of the fourth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament held at the UN headquarters. Tarawneh said all the insecurity and instability in the Middle East stem from the failure to resolve the Palestinian issue.

He also highlighted the burdens Jordan bears because of the Syrian refugee crisis. Brasseur and Housakos commended Jordan’s role in receiving refugees and the Kingdom’s reform achievements.

AMMAN — Border Guards received 104 Syrian refugees during the past 48 hours, an army source said Thursday. The Border Guards transferred the refugees to shelters and camps while Royal Medical Services cadres treated the injured.

AMMAN — Deputising for His Majesty King Abdullah, Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour on Thursday inaugurated the Gulf-Jordanian Economic Communication Forum.

In the opening speech, Ensour underlined Jordan's "brotherly and deep-rooted" relations with member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), expressing hopes that the forum will help expand bilateral economic ties, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

"As a result of these distinctive and brotherly relations, the volume of GCC member states' investments in Jordan amounted to $40 billion by the end of last year, distributed among all... sectors," Ensour said.

He also said that the volume of trade exchange between the GCC countries and Jordan reached around $5.7 billion in 2014, commending the preferential treatment given to Jordanian expatriates in the Gulf States who channel around $3 billion a year into Jordan's economy, Petra reported.

Expressing appreciation for the Gulf countries' endless support to Jordan, Ensour said that the GCC's grant to the Kingdom has contributed immensely to improving the infrastructure and basic services, Petra said.

Calling for more cooperation between Jordan and the Gulf countries, Ensour said that Jordan's population has increased dramatically over the past few years from 7 to 11 million, of which 1.4 million are Syrians, in addition to 500,000 Iraqis, 45,000 Yemenis and 35,000 Libyans, apart from more than 2 million Palestinian refugees.

Ensour also stressed that Jordan's resilience and stability serve the interests of the Gulf countries, saying, "…Your stability will be harmed if ours is harmed."

The premier also explained that Jordan's geopolitical location in the Arab region is "highly sensitive" as a result of its proximity to Palestine and Israel, adding that protecting Jordan should be the responsibility of all Arab states.

"Supporting Jordan does not cost you anything. All we need from our brothers is to invest in [this] country,” where their ventures would yield profits.

"Some Arab countries' investments outside the Arab region were at a certain point of time captive to certain political situations and, therefore, have always been vulnerable to measures like freezing assets. Money invested in Jordan is safe and would never be frozen under whatsoever circumstances… We do not beg for investments but we rather offer competitive opportunities."

Jordan Chamber of Commerce President Nael Kabariti expressed hopes in the forum’s ability to help business communities in the Gulf countries attract more Jordanians in addition to start economic ventures in Jordan.

Sheikh Khalifa Bin Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani, chairman of the Federation of the GCC Chambers of Commerce and Industry, said that the forum embodied Jordan’s keenness on enhancing its economic relations with the Gulf states, calling for taking the bilateral ties to a more advanced level, according to Petra.

Presiding over a panel on Jordanian-GCC economic and commercial ties, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Imad Fakhoury stressed that Jordan’s political, economic, social and security relations with the Gulf countries are strategic and based on mutual interests and the same destiny, a ministry statement to The Jordan Times said.

Fakhoury also voiced Jordan’s keenness on increasing its trade exchange with the GCC member states which stood at $7.7 billion in 2014, the statement said.

AMMAN — Foreign Ministry Secretary General Mohammad Tayseer Bani Yassin on Thursday received a copy of the credentials of the newly appointed resident ambassadors to Jordan, Birgitta Siefker-Eberle of Germany and Giovanni Brauzzi of Italy.

At the ceremony, Bani Yassin and the ambassadors stressed their countries’ commitment to strengthening ties.

AMMAN – The government will launch the first issuance of Islamic bonds, sukuk, this month worth JD150 million, Finance Ministry Secretary General Izzeddin Kanakrieh said Thursday.

Kanakrieh told The Jordan Times that another issuance is also expected before the end of the year to finance projects of the Jordan Water Authority, adding that the first would cover the purchases of the state-owned National Electric Power Company. 

According to the official, the volume of sukuk for this year is set to be between JD200 million and JD300 million. 

Next year, the government will issue Islamic bonds to finance purchasing headquarters for the Kingdom’s diplomatic missions, build schools and other government offices, particularly rented buildings with “expensive rentals”, he said. 

Kanakrieh said that next year, the government will benefit more from the Sharia-compliant financing tool as it will issue bonds worth hundreds of millions. 

“The exact amount will be determined in the 2016 budget bill, which is being prepared now,” he noted.  

A special-purpose company for issuing the sukuk will be ready within a week as it is in the process of registration at the Companies Control Department, he said. 

Islamic banks in Jordan enjoy liquidity in excess of JD1.4 billion, according to official data.
Jordan’s only private sector sukuk issuance was issued by Al Rajhi Cement for JD85 million in 2011.
In 2012, the Parliament passed the Islamic Finance Sukuk Law to allow both public and private entities to issue Islamic bonds in dinars and in foreign currencies.
In April of this year, the government selected the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector, an arm of the Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank, to support the country’s debut for the planned domestic sukuk offering.

AMMAN (Petra) — Labour Minister Nidal Katamine on Thursday issued a set of instructions that aim to develop the services of labour directorates after an unannounced visit he paid to the Sweileh labour directorate.

Katamine was briefed on the time taken to complete transactions, as well as the kind of services offered to the public and other related information.

The minister spoke with several citizens and discussed the measures taken with them, taking their suggestion and notes into account. After the visit, Katamine held an urgent meeting at the ministry, attended by Secretary General Hamadah Abu Nijmeh and several senior administrators, during which he issued directives to improve work and services at labour directorates.

AMMAN — Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Judeh on Thursday conveyed a written message from His Majesty King Abdullah to Romanian President Klaus Iohannis.

In the letter, King Abdullah conveyed greetings to the Romanian president and people, stressing his keenness on developing the ongoing cooperation between the two countries. 

Judeh delivered the message at a meeting with Romania’s president during which the two sides reviewed the latest regional developments and ways to boost cooperation between the two countries in the various fields. 

Iohannis expressed his appreciation of His Majesty King Abdullah’s efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East region, commending Jordan’s reform drive, and stressed his commitment to boosting Romania’s cooperation with Jordan in the areas of economy, tourism, education and health.

In Bucharest, Judeh held talks with Romania’s Prime Minister Victor Ponta, Speaker Valeriu Zgonea and Senate President Kalin Popesku Tarichanu, and Romania’s Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu during which discussions focused on ways to boost cooperation between Jordan and Romania.

Talks addressed the war on terrorism, the repercussions of the crisis in Syria and the latest developments in Syria, Yemen, Iraq and Libya, which Judeh highlighted, stressing the need for a peaceful solution to all of them.  

Moreover, the two sides agreed on the formation of a joint higher committee to work to advance joint cooperation.

SALT — Salt Education Department Director Fayez Jweied on Thursday said a teacher threatened to kill him with a gun, but a number of employees were able to stop him.

Jweied said he filed a complaint against the teacher and explained what happened to Balqa Governor Saleh Shoushan. He said he was insulted and threatened because the teacher was moved from the school he works at to one in another area.

AMMAN — A businesswomen’s committee from the Jordan Chamber of Commerce (JCC) on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding with a committee of businesswomen from the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry to strengthen cooperation.

The memorandum was signed by JCC board member Reem Badran and her Bahraini counterpart Afnan Rashid Al Zayani.

Under the memorandum, the two sides will exchange opinions and information to enhance economic and commercial activity.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour attended the signing of the memorandum, held on the sidelines of the Gulf-Jordanian Economic Communication Forum.

AMMAN — A man died and six were injured on Thursday in a four-vehicle collision in Zarqa, according to the Civil Defence Department (CDD).

CDD cadres administered first aid to the injured and took them to Prince Feisal Hospital and Prince Hashem Military Hospital where they were listed in fair condition.