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AMMAN — Local telecom company Umniah has signed an agreement with the US-based Plug and Play to support emerging technology companies in Jordan.

The agreement entails establishing a joint Plug and Play accelerator centre in Jordan, according to an Umniah statement released Monday.

The centre will allow Jordan-based companies to gain expertise and knowledge through different marketing training sessions on how to globally expand their businesses.

The agreement, signed during His Majesty King Abdullah’s visit to Plug and Play in Silicon Valley last week, also aims to bridge the gap between Jordan-based companies and the US.

Umniah CEO Ihab Hinnawi, who signed the agreement with Plug and Play CEO Saeed Amidi, said the deal “helps link local start-ups to international investors and gives them industrial guidance”.

Amidi agreed, noting that the initiative builds on Plug and Play’s international initiatives in Germany, Brazil, Spain and other countries.

Headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, Plug and Play is a business accelerator that specialises in growing tech start-ups.

Its global network includes more than 300 tech start-ups, over 180 investors and a community of leading universities and corporate partners, according to its website.

Umniah said the agreement complements past acceleration programmes organised between the two sides in partnership with the ICT Association of Jordan and USAID in Jordan.

The acceleration programme qualifies start-ups in Jordan to travel to Silicon Valley for an extensive three-month training programme. So far, a total of nine companies have completed the training, with preparations under way for the fourth wave, according to Umniah.

AMMAN — A row has surfaced between the government and the House-based reformist group, threatening a partnership that was seen as a new trend in Jordan’s political life.

The group, Mubadara, accuses the government of failing to make good on its promises, while a senior official says Mubadara has been acting in a “rejected authoritative manner”.  

“Yes, it is a crisis as long as Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour wants it to be a crisis,” Mubadara founder and spokesperson MP Mustafa Hamarneh (Madaba 1st District) told The Jordan Times Sunday.

Hamarneh said the government has failed to take advantage of the “historical momentum that has been building to help our country overcome the many challenges it faces”.

He said that after a long time of negotiations with the government, “it is not willing to be part of the efforts to realise real and tangible reforms”.

However, an official source who spoke under condition of anonymity said it seems Hamarneh and his colleagues “want to guide the government through” and “to tell us what to do and what not to do, a thing we will not agree with at all. This is against the constitutional principle of separation between powers.” 

Referring to reports alleging that Mubadara has claimed it has the support of the Royal Court, the source said it is not correct to involve the Royal Court in the row between the lawmakers and the government.

Hamarneh has repeatedly denied as baseless these reports. 

According to Minister of Political and Parliamentary Affairs Khaled Kalaldeh, the government has been very cooperative with Mubadara, having formed 19 committees and subcommittees to work with Mubadara team to overcome certain difficulties facing the agreed upon policies.

Quick results are not expected under the partnership with Mubadara, Kalaldeh said, denying there had been any deliberate attempt from the government to block the implementation of Mubadara’s ideas and programmes.

“We are willing to re-engage, provided that the government pledge to commit to the agreed upon policy papers,” Hamarneh said, referring to plans his bloc has released to the public after agreeing on them with the government, stating its suggestions to address major problems the country is struggling with. 

Mubadara members held a meeting on Sunday “to show solidarity and unity” in the face of the government’s reluctance to implement the agreed upon policy papers.  

Hamarneh stated following the meeting: “Mubadara has delivered but the government has not”.

No more support under Dome

Hamarneh said that if the government wants to re-engage with Mubadara, it has to show “genuine commitment this time”.   

Otherwise, the government will face an uphill battle under the Dome, as it will lose the 32-strong group’s support, which has so far helped Ensour and his team survive two votes of no-confidence. 

Mubadara has evolved over the past few months into an influential parliamentary power that will officially become a bloc by October, said Hamarneh. 

The group, which has been marketing itself as a shadow government, reached a deal last year with the government to grant husbands and children of Jordanian women married to non-Jordanians full civil rights.

Most recently, official sources said the government committee entrusted with examining the plan, which faced resistance due to political sensitivities, has already completed its work and submitted findings and recommendations to the government.

The decision is expected to serve interests of more than 350,000 individuals, who are non-Jordanians married to Jordanian women and their offspring.

AMMAN – The “Eager Lion” military training drill will kick off on May 25 with participants from 24 countries.

Organised by the Jordan Armed Forces in cooperation with the US army, more than 13,000 army personnel are expected to take part in the event, which will run until June 10, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

In addition, thousands of participants from government, private and civil institutions concerned with crisis management will be present at the training, held in Jordan for the fourth successive year “to strengthen military cooperation and coordination between participating countries”, Petra said.  

The drill will also focus on unconventional warfare that could undermine security, such as terrorism, insurgency and border breaches. 

The exercise focuses on wide range offensive and defensive operations, while including disaster relief, strategic communication and rescue operations, according to Petra.

AMMAN — Border guards clashed with militants along the northern border with Syria late Saturday, killing one gunman and wounding several others, the army said Sunday.

The Jordan Armed Forces (JAF) said border guards detained a group of gunmen attempting to illegally cross the Jordanian-Syrian border following the clashes, which took place during the past 72 hours.

The statement, carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra, did not disclose the number or nationalities of the gunmen, mentioning only that the detained militants were referred to the concerned authorities.

Security and Islamist sources said the gunmen were a group of 12 Jordanian and foreign Islamist fighters attempting to cross into Jordan to receive medical treatment.

Clashes erupted between the jihadists and border forces after the military fired “warning shots” to prevent the militants from approaching Jordanian territory, the sources said.

The ensuing clashes injured five of the 12 militants, according to security sources, one of whom is currently listed in critical condition in a public hospital in northern Jordan.

The 12 men, seven of whom are Jordanian nationals, were reportedly serving alongside the ranks of Al Qaeda-linked Jabhat Al Nusra jihadist coalition in southern Syria over the past three months before attempting to return to Jordan.

Also during the past 72 hours, border guards prevented three cars coming from Syria from proceeding further into Jordanian territory. The military used helicopters and ground forces to neutralise the threat and confiscate the contraband found in the three vehicles.

The incident marked the latest in a series of recent clashes along the 370-kilometre Jordanian-Syrian border.

Military forces have killed 14 Islamist militants and wounded 24 others attempting to cross the border since the launch of the new security campaign in late April.

Over 2,200 Jordanians are reportedly fighting alongside Islamist militias in Syria, according to Islamist sources, the vast majority of whom serving under the banner of Al Nusra and its rival, former Al Qaeda-affiliate the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. 

Leaders of the hard-line Jihadi Salafist movement, Al Nusra’s largest recruiter in Jordan, report a growing number of Jordanian jihadists returning to their homeland  due to rising infighting among Islamist militias, citing the return of some 30 former fighters each week.

Officials have singled out the return of suspected jihadist fighters as a “direct national security threat” to the country, having referred 100 suspected militants to the State Security Court, which has jailed 40 since late December.

The army statement said 1,144 Syrian refugees crossed into Jordan over the past 72 hours. The arrivals included 60 injured people who were sent to nearby hospitals and healthcare centres, while the rest were taken to refugee camps.

Shells and missiles have been falling on Jordanian border villages over the past few days due to the heavy shelling on Daraa in Syria near the Jordanian side of the border, the statement added.

AMMAN — Jordan Post Company (JPC) Director General Hamzah Jaradat assumed his post on Sunday after the Cabinet had approved a recommendation to appoint him.

Jaradat has a PhD in economics from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Between 2004 and 2013, he worked at the World Bank and as an adviser for the finance minister.

AMMAN — HRH Prince Feisal, the Regent, on Sunday met with a delegation from the American Jewish organisation, J Street, an advocacy group that seeks to support a two-state solution to bring an end to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.   

The prince highlighted Jordan’s stance in backing Palestinian-Israeli peace talks based on the relevant international resolutions and the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, arriving at the establishment of an independent and viable Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital and one that lives side-by-side with Israel.

He voiced his appreciation for J Street efforts in supporting peace endeavours to bring about tangible progress in the peace process, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

Prince Feisal highlighted the latest regional developments, especially the Syrian crisis and its repercussions on the entire region, citing the economic burden on Jordan due to hosting large number of refugees. 

The delegates pointed to their organisation’s positions that reject Israel’s settlement policy and support Palestinians in their right to establish their own independent state. 

Also on Sunday, the Regent met with branch directors of the Caritas Foundation Internationalis, which are holding their regional conference in Amman. 

He commended the foundation’s efforts in providing humanitarian aid for refugees in the Kingdom and contributing to the development of local communities, according to Petra. 

Caritas Jordan is a member of the Rome-based Caritas Internationalis  that manages a network of humanitarian work in 164 societies operating in 200 areas and countries.

AMMAN — The King Abdullah II Centre for Excellence (KACE) will launch a new cycle of awards for various sectors on Monday.

The centre will hold a press conference at 11am to launch its activities.

AMMAN — Jordan and Belgium on Sunday discussed increasing security cooperation.

At a meeting with Belgian Ambassador to Jordan Thomas Baeklandt, Interior Minister Hussein Majali reiterated the importance of benefiting from both countries’ security expertise to safeguard stability, and combat crime and terrorism.

Baeklandt expressed his country’s willingness to boost cooperation with Jordan.

AMMAN — Planning Minister Ibrahim Saif on Sunday chaired a meeting to discuss the final draft of the 2014/2016 National Resilience Plan (NRP).

The plan includes a request to extend $4.295 billion to Jordan to support the implementation of priority projects in the education, health, energy, municipalities, water, housing and security sectors, according to a Planning Ministry statement.

The NRP, drafted in cooperation with donor bodies, UN and NGOs, seeks to address the accumulating fiscal burden as a result of the Syrian crisis.

AMMAN — The “Afghanistan 4” contingent arrived in Kabul on Sunday to replace “Afghanistan 3” and assume its mission as part of the International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF).

Lt. Gen. Joseph Anderson, commander of the ISAF Joint Command, received the Jordanian contingent, and awarded “Afghanistan 3” members with medals, expressing NATO’s appreciation of their efforts.