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AMMAN — Jordanians and visitors from several countries had a chance on Saturday to attend an array of Asian wedding ceremonies and learn about their unique features, songs and traditions during a fund-raising event.

The "performers", including students, members of the diplomatic corps of Asian countries and their ambassadors' wives, presented enactments of bridal festivities that won the audience's admiration.

India’s Ambassador to Jordan Radha Ranjan Dash and Malaysia’s Ambassador to Jordan Dato Abdul Malek Bin Abdul Aziz took part in the event, along with company managers and employees who played the role of grooms or best men in Asian Splendour 2014: Nuptials and Customs, held at Al Hussein Cultural Centre and organised by the Asian Ambassadors' Ladies in Amman (AALIA).

Celebrating romance, Malaysia's ambassador sang an oldie, “The Love Boat”, at the end of his country’s wedding ceremony.

The event's youngest groom, a 14-year-old Malaysian student, said his family urged him to participate, but he also had fun.

“It is for fun and charity at the same time,” Mohammad Farhan said.

The bridal enactments drew cheers, whistles, screams and applause from the audience, several of whom tried to capture video footage with their smartphones.

The Indian wedding featured one groom and six brides from six of the country's 28 states, showcasing their traditional costumes and beautifully crafted jewellery, leaving the groom bewildered and unable to make up his mind. 

“Everything is so strange in an Indian wedding,” the groom, an embassy employee named Vimarsh Aryan, told The Jordan Times.

“An Indian wedding is the longest. It lasts for four days or more because there are different ceremonies and rituals which take place at auspicious moments when the gods will bless you, and the main ceremony lasts almost all night,” he said.

“In a Hindu wedding, the bride and the groom walk around the fire seven times during which they pledge to remain husband and wife for the next seven lives,” Aryan explained, noting that each state has particular unique traditions.

“We have our own colours and costumes,” one of the Indian brides noted. India’s ambassador and his wife, Rita Dash exchanged floral garlands on stage, announcing the start of the Indian wedding, which concluded with a Bollywood dance that prompted other girls to get off their seats and join in, with the performance welcomed by several rounds of applause.

Other wedding performances were joyful, especially the Pakistani one.

“Happiness” is the main feature of a Pakistani wedding, according to Arooha Majed, daughter of the defence attaché at the embassy of Pakistan. 

“Everybody is happy, everyone enjoys themselves,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan wedding reflected respect and strong family ties.

The bride and the groom kneel down and pay respect to their in-laws and other elderly relatives during the nuptials, according to Mahendra Adkari, a Sri Lankan company manager working in Amman, who acted as the groom.

Afterwards, the bride’s mother invites everyone for lunch and the groom carries at least seven boxes of sweets to the bride’s house, Adkari told The Jordan Times.

Sporting a short-sleeved, golden beaded blazer, he said the traditional costume dates back to around 1815, but nowadays some grooms may choose to wear modern clothes while the bride’s jewellery should consist of seven pendants.

“In the past everything was gold; they would be gifts from the parents, uncles and relatives,” Indrani Rajapakse, the wife of Sri Lanka’s ambassador to Jordan and AALIA secretary, pointed out.

Bangladeshi, Indonesian, Philippine and Bruneian weddings were also enacted during Saturday's three-hour event.

Organising activities since 2004, AALIA is a group of volunteers composed of the spouses of ambassadors of Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Thailand. 

It also includes among its members women ambassadors who are themselves accredited to Jordan, such as Philippine Ambassador Olivia V. Palala.

The proceeds of the fundraiser will go to charity organisations in Jordan and other countries that might have experienced natural disasters such as floods or tsunamis, according to Datin Jamilah Talib, the wife of the Malaysian ambassador.

AMMAN — The Lower House Labour Committee on Sunday reached an agreement with the Jordan Phosphate Mines Company’s (JPMC) employees, ending their two-week strike.

The deal was reached while dozens of protesting workers were standing at the gates of Parliament seeking MPs’ help in resolving their row with the JPMC administration.

The agreement grants the workers their demands and cancels a restructuring plan that was aimed at governing future increases in allowances and salaries.

The restructuring of the company was based on a decision previously taken by the JPMC board of directors.

Under the deal, the company will increase allocations for the employees’ fund by 4 per cent.

The agreement also establishes a new fund for end-of-service compensation, which the JPMC will support with 2 per cent of its annual profit with a ceiling of JD2 million.

The meeting with the workers took place at the Parliament and was attended by representatives from the JPMC administration.

The agreement also grants employees a cost of living allowance of JD60, in addition to 2 per cent of the company’s profit.

Under the deal, the JPMC will increase educational scholarships by 39 this year and grant each worker one scholarship next year.

Last month, JPMC Chairman Amer Majali said the administration has reached its limit in acceding to employees’ demands, stressing that the restructuring measures were agreed upon with the workers and their representatives.

AMMAN — Wildfires are expected to increase this summer as forest grounds remain covered with broken branches caused by last December’s snowstorm, conservationists warned on Sunday.

Over 20,000 trees were uprooted and hundreds of thousands of branches broken in December last year during the heaviest snowstorm to hit the country in over a decade. 

Figures indicate that one-third of the Kingdom’s forests were damaged.

“The forests were severely damaged during winter due to the snowstorm and illegal logging. Now as the weather warms up and the picnicking season starts, wildfires will rage because of the dry branches that cover the forest ground,” Dibbeen Forest Reserve Director Bashir Ayasrah told The Jordan Times over the phone.

Ayasrah warned that broken branches will fuel wildfires as people start visiting nature reserves.

“What makes things even worse is that the uprooted and fallen trees are blocking roads inside the forests made especially for fire trucks,” he said.

In February, conservationists called for a nationwide campaign to clear the broken branches from forests before spring starts. 

They said the Kingdom’s forests are heading towards an environmental catastrophe, referring to the expected wildfires during summer if the branches are not removed.

Another conservationist, who preferred to remain unnamed, said authorities did not show any sign of cooperation in launching a voluntary campaign.

“The reserves’ staff and Rangers have cleared the branches from areas most frequented by visitors, but other than that, we don’t possess enough cadres or vehicles to remove what remains of the thousands of broken branches,” the conservationist told The Jordan Times.

Twelve dunums of forest trees in the Dibbeen Forest Reserve were destroyed in a wildfire last week that damaged 184 centennial trees. Aysrah said it was too early to start witnessing fires in the forests, noting that wildfires usually start in June.

“I believe that the dry broken branches accelerated the fire,” he said.

Illegal logging during winter, fires during summer and insufficient rain due to climate change, are the main threats to Jordan’s shrinking green cover, according to experts.

AMMAN — Countries of the West Asia and North Africa (WANA) region have much to learn from the experience of the European Visegrad Group, HRH Prince Hassan said on Sunday.

The transitions that Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic underwent in the 20th century “taught us essential lessons about democracy”, Prince Hassan said at a conference organised by the Polish embassy and Al Rai Centre for Studies.

Titled “Visegrad Group: Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary — Jordan: Successful Beneficiaries of NATO and EU Heritage”, the one-day event featured speakers from the four European countries who focused on political, military and economic aspects when discussing the evolution of their nations’ collaboration with NATO, the EU and Jordan.

Member states, also known as the Visegrad Four, work together in fields of common interest, drawing from their shared culture and history.

Highlighting how far the four countries have come, Prince Hassan noted that the Visegrad Group collectively accounts for “Europe’s fifth largest economy”, with countries such as the Czech Republic being among the world’s 30 most developed countries.

The group was formed in 1991 with the goal of eliminating the remnants of the communist bloc in Central Europe, overcoming “historic animosities” between Central European countries and the belief that through joint efforts it will be easier to achieve the set goals, according to the group’s website.

The parallels between WANA and these countries, which all joined the EU 10 years ago, are “valid and valuable”, the prince added.

“Transition can only be judged to be successful when the benefits of democracy are shared by all,” Prince Hassan told an audience of Jordanian and European diplomats, researchers and military officers, stressing that WANA countries should work together towards the advancement of their peoples.

Piotr Puchta, director of the department of Africa and the Middle East at the Polish foreign ministry, said Poland and Jordan do not share the same climate, history or neighbourhood, but both have the aspect of human behaviour in common.

“Fundamental change in the political life of a country has to be followed by equally fundamental change in economic life,” he said, noting that the Visegrad Four are open to describing successes as well as failures to ensure that Jordan benefits from their experience.

“We don’t want this exchange to be a one-way street,” Puchta stressed.

Ambassadors of the four Visegrad countries, the EU and the US, in addition to Trade Minister Mohammad Halawani, also participated in Sunday’s one-day event, which was the fifth annual conference organised by the Polish embassy.

AMMAN — Riyadh Shakaa, president of the Independent Elections Commission (IEC), took the oath of office before His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday.

Asma Khader, Mohammad Masalha, Samar Hajj Hasan and Ali Harout were also sworn in as members of the IEC board of commissioners, according to a Royal Court statement.

Following the ceremony, King Abdullah underlined the importance of building on the achievements of the IEC, which has made strides in preparing and supervising parliamentary elections.

The King noted that the commission, which is part of Jordan's comprehensive reform process, enjoys "distinguished" regional standing.

The Monarch stressed the IEC's independence and the need to develop its work through coordinating and cooperating with all stakeholders based on best international practices and in accordance with the highest standards of integrity, transparency and objectivity, contributing to realising development requirements that improve citizens' trust in state institutions, the statement said.

A Royal Decree was issued on April 23 restructuring the IEC board of commissioners

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah, the Supreme Commander of the Jordan Armed Forces (JAF), will on Tuesday inaugurate the 10th Special Operations Forces Exhibition (SOFEX 2014).

On Sunday, SOFEX Managing Director Amer Tabbaa said that the event will begin on Monday with a conference titled “Special Forces at the Time of Digital Wars”, during which 600 world leaders, defence ministers, army chiefs and strategic planners from 52 countries will take part. 

Tabbaa added that the conference provides a platform for world leaders and experts to discuss issues related to world security and the role of the latest technologies in handling the emerging security challenges.  

He also said that a total of 371 companies from 41 countries will participate in this year’s exhibition.  

The exhibition, which will run through May 8, will be held in a space of 75,000 square metres at the King Abdullah I Airbase near Amman, with local, regional and international companies showcasing the latest special operations and technology equipment, he added.

The exhibition is directly supervised by HRH Prince Feisal with support from JAF and security agencies. 

ZAATARI — Neighbours of Syria on Sunday called on the international community to help hosts of Syrian refugees shoulder the humanitarian burden they are undertaking.

At a meeting hosted in Jordan, ministers representing the Kingdom, Lebanon, Turkey, Egypt and Iraq, along with the UNHCR, called on other countries to host Syrians and offer more flexible visa rules.

“It is clear [to] me that a crucial aspect in handling this crisis is to improve access [to] humanitarian aid inside Syria. It is also clear… that people should not be hindered while seeking asylum,” commented the UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres.

At the third ministerial coordination meeting of major host countries for Syrian refugees, which took place at the Zaatari Refugee Camp, participants said that Syria has become the largest crisis of forcible displacement in the world, and is “posing a growing threat to a regional peace and security”.

The high-level meeting was co-chaired by Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh and Guterres, who were joined by Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, Lebanese Minister of Social Affairs Rashid Derbas, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Egyptian Deputy Foreign Minister Hamdi Loza.

At a press conference that followed a closed meeting, Judeh said the only solution for the Syrian crisis is a political one.

“We discussed the next practical way to deal with this continuous challenge… Our partnership with the UNHCR helped us share the burden, but the international community should also play a part in shouldering the load,” Judeh said.

The ministers also called for a full implementation of the Security Council Resolution 2139 to ensure the safe and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance to more than nine million people who need help in Syria.

 “The full utilisation of the resolution has not been realised… there is a need for a full revision of the provisions to deal with the humanitarian crisis,” Judeh said.

This was echoed by the Turkish foreign minister, who noted that since the adoption of the resolution, only 78 trucks with aid were granted access to Syria by the Damascus regime.

He also noted that over the last three to four months, the attention of the world has been focused on other crises, like the one in Ukraine.

According to a statement distributed to the press after the meeting, the 2014 regional response plan appeal is only 25 per cent funded. Thus the ministers and the UNHCR commissioner urged donor countries to continue their support as the situation “worsens”.

The statement said the $1 billion of funding received so far has helped enable host countries, the UNHCR and its partners to provide life-saving assistance to millions of people.

The meeting also urged donors to fulfil pledges made at the second international humanitarian pledging conference for Syria, held in Kuwait in January this year, and to directly support governments and their different national resilience and development plans. 

Addressing the press, Guterres said that until Saturday, the UNHCR had registered 2,739,000 Syrian refugees in neighbouring countries, “but if you include the unregistered Syrians who flee the country, we are now clearly above 3,000,000 Syrian refugees, not forgetting the 6.5 million Syrians displaced inside Syria”.

“It is important not to forget that this is the worst catastrophic humanitarian situation we are facing probably since the Rwanda genocide,” Guterres noted.

The UN official also stressed that attention should also be drawn to the structural problems that host countries are facing in education, health, water and electricity, caused by the huge inflow of refugees that have changed the demographics and economic situation of the countries.

“We also want to raise awareness that this is not merely a responsibility of the neighbouring countries.” 

Jordan

At the beginning of the meeting, and during the press conference, Judeh briefed participants about the situation of the humanitarian crisis in Jordan.

He said Jordan is hosting 1.3 million Syrian refugees, 600,000 of them are officially registered, while the other 700,000 came before the crisis for economic reasons.

 Zaatari, he noted, is the 4th or the 5th largest city in Jordan in terms of population.

“Every day for the past 22 months we have witnessed the camp growing and it is now hosting 125,000 refugees,” he said.

“Since the beginning of the crisis, the government has spared no efforts in hosting Syrians, sharing with them the little we have,” Judeh said, adding that the humanitarian crisis is “stretching the resources and society of Jordan in an unprecedented way”.

“We are here to remind the world of this crisis… the time has come for all of us to address this situation, to collectively identify challenges facing us.”

According to Judeh, there are 120,000 Syrian children enrolled in Jordan’s schools, while the occupancy rate at some state-run hospitals is 100 per cent.

Judeh also explained that 96 per cent of Jordan’s energy is imported, and because of the influx of Syrians, there has been a 9.5 per cent increase in household energy consumption.

He also tackled the pressures on the labour market as Syrians are competing with Jordanians for jobs, which inadvertently creates negative sentiments in host communities.

“When we talk about 3,358 new births in the Zaatari camp, this is a huge burden on us, and this is a continuing issue; thus we emphasise the need for a political solution to the crisis.”

Also on Sunday, Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour met with the foreign ministers and officials taking part in the meeting. 

The premier underlined the burdens Jordan is enduring due to the Syria crisis and the ensuing pressure on the infrastructure and services.  

The prime minister underlined Jordan’s stance in supporting endeavours to come up with a comprehensive political solution to the Syrian crisis, with the participation of all segments of society to help end the bloodshed and ensure the return of refugees.        

Elissa Oddone contributed to this report.

AMMAN — Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh on Saturday discussed the Syrian crisis with senior Arab and UN officials participating in the third meeting of foreign ministers of Syria’s neighbouring countries.

During separate meetings Saturday with Iraq’s Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, Lebanese Minister of Social Affairs Wael Abou Faour and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres, Judeh went over the major items to be discussed during the third meeting of foreign ministers of Syria’s neighbouring countries, which will be held on Sunday at the Zaatari Refugee Camp on the northern border with Syria.

During the three meetings, Judeh reviewed Jordan’s burdens resulting from hosting large number of Syrian refugees, calling for more international assistance to the resource-limited Kingdom and other hosting countries to be able to deal with the non-stop refugee influx. 

Stressing the need to maintain constant cooperation and coordination between all hosting countries and the UNHCR, Judeh reiterated Jordan’s stance on the Syrian crisis, which advocates a political solution to the ongoing war there that incorporates all segments of Syrian society.  

AMMAN — Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour on Saturday renewed Jordan’s full support to the reconciliation agreement reached between the Palestinian factions. 

During a meeting with his Palestinian counterpart, Rami Hamdallah, which was attended by Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh and Minister of State for Media Affairs and Communications Mohammad Momani, the two sides stressed the importance of maintaining Jordanian-Palestinian consultations and coordination over all issues of mutual concern, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

The two sides also stressed the importance of furthering bilateral relations in all fields, calling in this regard for building on the outcomes of the recent meeting of the Joint Jordanian-Palestinian Higher Committee in Ramallah.

Ensour also voiced Jordan’s support for the legitimate rights of the Palestinians and their leadership, primarily their quest for an independent state of their own with East Jerusalem as its capital. 

In remarks to the press following the meeting, Ensour underlined that the Palestinian question has long been Jordan’s first and foremost priority, saying: “Our position is clear. We are on the side of the Palestine Liberation Organisation and so unwilling to see disputes among our brotherly Palestinians.”

Ensour also commended the reconciliation agreement the two major Palestinian factions Fateh and Hamas reached, saying that all peace efforts and negotiations are “meaningless” if not supported by a unified Palestinian front, calling on the Palestinians to show commitment to the deal signed.

For his Part, Hamdallah said that his meeting with Ensour came after the April 23 meeting of the Joint Jordanian-Palestinian Higher Committee during which several bilateral agreements were signed, stressing the continuity of coordination and cooperation with the Jordanian side over all matters of mutual concern.

Hamdallah also said that he discussed with Ensour the Israeli provocative assaults on Al Aqsa Mosque. 

AMMAN — As directed by His Majesty King Abdullah, the government on Saturday pledged to complete the formulation of a 10-year blueprint for economic development by the end of this year.

On March 29, the King sent a letter to Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour directing the government to prepare a plan that would result in a stronger economy, in both macroeconomic and monetary aspects, and ensure consistency, increased competitiveness, productivity and self-reliance.

The ultimate goal, His Majesty said, is to achieve comprehensive development and ensure Jordanians get a “decent living and hope for a better future”.

“This economic blueprint should have a comprehensive framework that targets the following: enhancing financial and monetary policies and assuring their consistency; improving economic competitiveness; enhancing values of high productivity and self-reliance to realise sustainable and comprehensive development,” the Monarch said.   

On Saturday, Ensour sent a reply letter to His Majesty, pledging to complete the task before the end of this year and stressed that the envisioned economic plan will be based on guidelines the King set in his letter to the government  (see full text).

“The Cabinet and I assure Your Majesty that we will work diligently to prepare this blueprint, adopting a participatory approach based on openness to all of the country’s social and economic stakeholders, including government agencies, Parliament, the private sector, civil society organisations and other national entities.”

“Through this approach, the blueprint will be the fruit of a collective national endeavour, where all stakeholders have an active role to play, not only its drafting, but also in the process of its implementation and follow-up. We will work on institutionalising the role of the private sector, to further emphasise the important part it plays in development.”

In the letter, a copy of which was sent to The Jordan Times, Ensour said: “As we prepare this blueprint for the future of the Jordanian economy, which will be completed before the end of this year, we will identify the roles and responsibilities of all stakeholders, during both the drafting and implementation stages. The blueprint will be formulated by technical committees represented by all concerned sectors. It will harness all available expertise, locally and internationally, in order to produce an outcome that will be a national achievement for Jordan, in line with best international practices.”

“The blueprint will complement the government’s action plan and programmes for the years 2013-2016, which we presented to the 17th Parliament in its non-ordinary session,” Ensour said, adding that it will also be aligned with other national fiscal and economic reform programmes.

“Based on Your Majesty’s letter, the vision aims to position Jordan as a regional hub of economic activities, capitalising on the relative advantages of certain sectors, such as transportation and energy, pharmaceuticals, mining, tourism and education services, information technology, healthcare, design and architecture and consultation, engineering, financial, banking and logistic services. Hopefully, these sectors will be the drivers of development in the coming decade.”

Ensour set the objectives of the envisioned plan to include, among others, boosting economic growth, achieving fiscal stability, expanding the middle class, reducing public debt, enhance the business and investment environment, revisiting the role of the private sector in terms of its size and the nature of its contribution to the development process.

He also highlighted that the plan would give attention to other aspects like human resources, vocational training, decentralisation and the needs of people with special disabilities.