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AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Monday received Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, former secretary general of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

 The King praised Ihsanoglu’s efforts in achieving a qualitative leap in the performance of the OIC, which is regarded as the second largest international organisation in the world.

King Abdullah asserted the importance of building on previous accomplishments in clarifying the true nature of Islam, dealing with challenges facing the Muslim world and defending Islamic causes.

Ihsanoglu commended King Abdullah’s efforts to highlight the true nature of Islam and encourage dialogue among the followers of the Abrahamic faiths.

WARSAW — Half-a-century after the establishment of diplomatic ties between Jordan and Poland, there still remains a chance to enhance cooperation further if Amman opens an embassy in Warsaw, according to Polish officials.

“We are confident that opening an embassy here will be for the benefit of both countries,” said Piotr Puchta, the director of the department of Africa and the Middle East at the Polish foreign ministry.

Puchta told Jordanian researchers and journalists who were in Warsaw on a recent study visit organised by the Polish embassy in Amman that Jordan’s ambassador in Berlin Mazen Al Tal is the Kingdom’s non-resident ambassador to Poland.

When Tal presented his credentials, “we expressed our belief that we need a Jordanian embassy in Poland,” the Polish official said through an interpreter.

Highlighting the need to redraft and update some bilateral agreements between Amman and Warsaw, Barbara Cwioro — counsellor at the department of Africa and the Middle East — said having a Jordanian embassy in Poland will speed up these procedures.

Jordan and Poland have signed cooperation agreements in culture and education, and are scheduled to sign a security cooperation agreement this year, she noted.

Cwioro added that Tal had conveyed Jordan’s willingness to study the possibility of establishing a diplomatic mission in Warsaw. She suggested that the Kingdom open a consulate instead of an embassy to save expenses.

Officials at the Polish ministry of economy and members of the senate’s Polish-Jordanian parliamentary friendship committee also expressed similar views, citing the benefits of opening an embassy in enhancing cooperation.

“Jordan’s ambassador in Berlin has promised to be available on a regular basis for anything in Poland, but this is not the same as having an actual embassy in Warsaw,” said Hubert Królikowski, director of the offset programmes department at the Polish ministry of economy.

Commenting on the issue, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Sabah Al Rafie said Poland is among the candidate countries to host a Jordanian embassy, but financial constraints have been hampering efforts to establish one.

“These financial limitations also stand in the way of opening a consulate in Poland. At present, our embassy in Berlin is covering Warsaw as well,” Rafie told The Jordan Times over the phone.

His Majesty King Abdullah has also expressed the need to open an embassy in Warsaw, according to Polish Ambassador to Jordan Krzysztof Bojko. 

“The idea of the establishment of a Jordanian embassy in Poland was already announced in 2004 during the [King’s] visit to Poland,” Bojko said in remarks e-mailed to The Jordan Times. 

“I believe that the efforts of the King of Jordan and the Jordanian authorities will result in successful establishment of a Jordanian embassy in Poland. This event will be another milestone in our bilateral relations,” he added.

Despite the close cooperation, officials at the Polish ministry of economy said there is still potential for expansion.

The trade volume between Jordan and Poland was around $72 million in 2013, with Polish exports accounting for some $71.4 million compared with $1.3 million in Jordanian exports, according to figures presented by the ministry.

Królikowski said his country seeks more balance in the trade volume, adding that Jordan should work more on promoting investment opportunities to Polish businesspeople and encourage more tourists to visit its attractions.

In 2012, 15,492 Polish tourists visited Jordan — a rise from 15,266 in 2011, according to World Tourism Organisation figures cited by the Polish ministry.

But tourist numbers were higher in previous years, reaching 35,805, 19,964 and 24,563 in 2008, 2009 and 2010 respectively.

“We are encouraging Jordanians to invest in Poland and also promoting Jordan to Polish investors,” Królikowski said.

“We see Jordan as a strategic partner in the region and not just a market to promote our products.”

AMMAN –– The government’s restructuring plan for the public sector will result in lower budgets for independent public agencies over the coming years, a senior official said Monday. 

Public Sector Development Minister Khleef Al Khawaldeh told reporters that eight independent entities in the fields of media, investment and agriculture will be cancelled this year, and the government will study merging or cancelling other organisations in the transport and business sectors in the near future. 

There is a team that analyses the budgets and duties of some independent entities to decide if they should be kept, Khawaldeh said at a press conference. 

“We hope that the benefits of the restructuring plan will be reflected in the budgets of independent public agencies this year,” he added, noting that the mergers and cancellations will not lead to employee lay-offs.

The budgets of the country’s 64 independent government agencies amounted to around JD1.9 billion for 2014. 

Khawaldeh briefed journalists on the progress of projects included in the 2013-16 programme to improve public sector performance, endorsed by the government last December.

The programme seeks to boost the performance of the government’s human resources, restructure and reduce public agencies, enhance the level of services offered to the public and entrench a culture of excellence among government departments. 

Khawaldeh said a quarterly report was recently issued to highlight the achievements made so far, which include issuing a new civil service by-law that identifies the criteria of appointments to government positions. 

He added that the ministry has also completed an assessment guide for human resources departments at public agencies, in addition to endorsing a code of conduct for public servants. 

The ministry has also launched an electronic system to receive people’s complaints over services provided by government agencies and will follow up with the concerned departments to address them, Khawaldeh noted.

He said a team from the ministry has carried out unannounced visits to several public departments to check on the levels of services they offer. 

Khawaldeh added the ministry has launched a new website (www.mopsd.gov.jo), funded by USAID, to enable visitors to submit their complaints and suggestions regarding the performance of the public sector.

AMMAN — A Gendarmerie officer, who was shot on Sunday while on duty at a court in Maan, 220km south of the capital, is still hospitalised at King Hussein Medical Centre (KHMC) in critical condition, official sources said Monday.

The injured officer was with three other gendarmes at 8:30pm on Sunday when they were attacked by the occupants of an unidentified vehicle, Gendarmerie Public Relations Department Director Lt. Col. Ahmad Abu Hammad said.

“Three men were inside the vehicle, and one of them fired at our officers with an automatic rifle,” Abu Hammad told The Jordan Times.

One of the officers received multiple gunshot wounds to different parts of his body and a second was shot in the leg, according to the official.

“The officer with multiple wounds was listed in critical condition and is currently being treated at the KHMC in Amman,” Abu Hammad said, adding that the second officer has been treated and discharged from hospital.

A statement issued by the Gendarmerie Department said a search is ongoing for the three suspects and an all-points bulletin was issued with the vehicle’s description.

“We still do not have a motive for the shooting and believe they were individuals with previous criminal records, but we are certain that we will find them soon,” Abu Hammad noted.

A Maan resident who declined to give his name claimed that only one man “carried out the attack against the gendarmes to avenge his deceased brother, a wanted criminal killed in a police shoot-out recently”. 

AMMAN — HRH Princess Basma on Monday highlighted the Kingdom’s achievements in the medical sector at the opening of the 12th internal medicine conference. 

The four-day event is organised by the Internists Association of Jordan and the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.

The princess noted that there were only three physicians in Jordan in the late 1920s, while now there are over 25,000 doctors registered at the Jordan Medical Association. 

She added that the ratio of physicians to population is the same in Jordan and the UK, standing at 2.7 doctors per 1,000 people, and the two countries earn a similar amount of revenues from medical tourism, although the cost of treatment in Jordan is substantially less than in the UK.

Health Minister Ali Hiasat said internal medicine, like other medical specialisations, receives great attention in Jordan, stressing the importance of the conference in providing an opportunity for Jordanian physicians to become acquainted with the latest findings and techniques in the field.

Participants from around 18 Arab and foreign countries are taking part in the four-day event, discussing more than 60 research papers in internal medicine. 

AMMAN — After keeping the draft illicit fortune law on hold for a few months due to a difference of opinion between the two Houses of Parliament, lawmakers on Monday endorsed the bill.

In their second joint session in less than a week, senators and deputies endorsed the Senate’s version of the draft law.

Lawmakers agreed in their joint session last week to name the bill the “illicit fortune law”, without adding the phrase “From where did you get this?”, which is an Arabic cliché used to express doubt over the sources of money and assets.

Deputies had insisted on including the phrase, but senators maintained that it is unnecessary.

On Monday, they endorsed the rest of the bill, including a provision that expanded the jurisdiction of the draft law to include cases since 2006.

Lawmakers also ended their dispute over keeping the name of the Financial Disclosure Department or changing it into the “anti-illicit fortune department”, voting in favour of keeping the original name.

Last year, MPs rejected the Senate’s amendments to the bill, insisting on their decision to scrap the Financial Disclosure Department at the Justice Ministry and vesting its responsibilities in a judicial commission to be established for this purpose and function under the Judicial Council.

The legislation was endorsed less than a week before the end of the ongoing ordinary session of Parliament, slated for early May.

Parliamentary sources and observers say it is very likely that His Majesty King Abdullah will summon Parliament to convene for an extraordinary session to discuss and endorse reform-related laws.

AMMAN — The Muslim Brotherhood has expelled three leading members of the movement over their involvement in a rival reform initiative, the group announced on Monday.

In a decision handed down by the group’s internal court on late Sunday, the Muslim Brotherhood moved to annul the memberships of Rheil Gharaibeh, Nabil Kofahi and Jamil Dheisat for their involvement in the so-called National Initiative for Building, or “Zamzam” reform initiative.

In its decision, finalised on Monday, the country’s largest opposition movement cited the three’s “absence at court proceedings” and “failure to coordinate with group leaders or announce their intentions” in forming the initiative as among reasons behind the move.

In a statement, the group claimed it had given the sacked members several months since the announcement of the reform imitative in December 2012 to “submit a report within the internal framework of the organisation” to expand on the nature and intent of the reform initiative.

“The three members in question were given all opportunities to clarify their position and the intent behind the formation of this initiative, and they failed to comply,” Zaki Bani Rsheid, deputy overall leader of the Brotherhood, told The Jordan Times.

Gharaibeh, a former deputy overall leader of the group and Zamzam co-founder, criticised the decision, accusing the leadership within the Islamist movement of pursuing policies of “intolerance” to dissenting opinions.

“This decision is the latest in a series of actions and misguided policies that raise questions over the democratic nature of the movement and its future,” Gharaibeh said.

The three expelled members deny accusations that the pro-reform initiative, an umbrella of leading figures of various political affiliations, aims to serve as a rival to the Islamist movement.

“The Zamzam initiative is a national reform initiative and not an Islamist or a Brotherhood initiative. It is not a party nor is it in any way an attempt to compete with the Brotherhood,” Gharaibeh said.

Although Sunday’s decision was “final”, the three can be reinstated at a later date according to internal Brotherhood guidelines.

The decision follows months of refusal by Brotherhood leaders to take a position on Zamzam, which has gained over 800 members since its formation in December 2012.

In October, the Brotherhood leadership boycotted the official launch of the initiative, stating only that it would not take an official position over members’ involvement in the coalition until it “reviews its policies and stances” to ensure they are in line with the movement’s political programme.

According to Brotherhood sources, behind the rare move is a growing division between so-called liberal faction of the movement — which was previously led by Gharaibeh and favours greater participation in public life and dialogue with the state — and more hard-line elements within the group headed by Bani Rsheid, which currently dominate the movement’s leadership.

AMMAN — Zain Jordan will invest around JD315 million this year to enhance its third generation (3G) services and introduce fourth generation (4G) services in the Kingdom, Ahmad Hanandeh, its chief executive officer, said Monday.

The company has received final approval from the government to acquire necessary frequencies to introduce 4G services, which enables data transfer at about 150 megabits per second (mbps), which is almost four times more than current 42 (mbps) speed enabled by 3G, Hanandeh told reporters.

He said 4G services will be launched in the last quarter of this year and will first be available in densely populated areas and major cities and then gradually expand.

“4G services are expected to significantly increase data consumption in Jordan,” Hanandeh noted.

Citing international studies, he said the number of 4G users around the world is expected to reach 9 billion by the year 2018. 

The introduction of 4G services in Jordan is expected to boost video consumption, according to Zain Jordan, with video usage forecast to grow by 300 per cent.

Zain Jordan, which recently acquired frequencies to expand its 3G services, is planning to upgrade its infrastructure to enhance these services, Hanandeh said.

Last week, ICT Minister Azzam Sleit said Zain Jordan, a unit of Kuwaiti-based Mobile Telecommunications Co., has acquired the frequencies to provide 4G services in return for JD142 million, and the company also acquired other frequencies for JD50 million to enhance and expand its 3G network.

The government had invited the country’s three operators —  Zain Jordan, Orange Jordan and Umniah — to submit requests to acquire frequencies to provide 4G services after it turned down bids from KULACOM Jordan and US-based Ameriphone.

Mobile penetration in Jordan reached 156 per cent at the end of 2013, with 10.3 million subscriptions, according to official figures.

AMMAN — The Muslim Brotherhood has called for immediate dialogue with authorities without preconditions in a bid they claim to protect the country’s national unity in the face of challenges posed by regional crises.

In an interview, overall leader of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan, Hammam Saeed, announced the country’s largest opposition movement’s willingness to enter an “immediate and productive” dialogue with authorities over the country’s political future “without preconditions” in a bid to protect the country against what he claimed as growing social, economic and political divisions. 

“Currently, Jordan’s security, stability and national unity is being threatened by various regional political and economic crises, namely the Syrian conflict and attempts to give away the right of return of Palestinian refugees in the so-called Israeli-Palestinian negotiations,” Saeed told The Jordan Times in an interview. 

“Now the time is right for immediate dialogue with decision makers to arrive at a parliamentary government in order to confront these crises.”

Saeed indicated that the Islamist movement would set no preconditions to the hypothetical talks, whose agenda, Islamist leaders believe, should centre on changes to the country’s Elections Law, whose controversial one-man, one-vote formula spurred the Brotherhood to boycott successive legislative elections. 

The only guarantees sought by the opposition movement ahead of the proposed talks are a set time frame and Royal backing, Saeed indicated. 

“Only when we arrive at the formation of parliamentary governments that reflect the will of the people can the state alleviate the pressure being placed on the Kingdom by the regional political climate,” Saeed said.

The calls come less than a week after Zaki Bani Rsheid, Saeed’s deputy, urged officials for a comprehensive “national dialogue” over the country’s political future.

Minister of Political and Parliamentary Affairs Khaled Kalaldeh indicated that the government is prepared to enter talks with various political forces over the country’s political reform process and future.

Ties between authorities and the Brotherhood have been tenuous since the Islamist movement’s abrupt withdrawal from national political reform initiatives and boycott of successive parliamentary elections. 

Talks over the Brotherhood’s inclusion in a previous national dialogue over political reform collapsed in 2011 due to the Islamist movement’s insistence on amendments to articles 34, 35 and 36 of the Constitution, which stipulate the King’s authorities regarding appointment of governments. 

AMMAN — Three young Jordanians reiterated their “not guilty” pleas to terrorism charges on Monday as a high-profile Al Qaeda terror plot trial came to a close.

In their final statements to the State Security Court on Monday, Jordanians Mohammad Khater, Fawzi Abdul Jabbar and Ahmad Abu Taha said they were innocent of charges of plotting to carry out a series of terror attacks on diplomatic missions and shopping centres in October 2012. 

The three men are among 11 Jordanians facing life in prison for their alleged involvement in a foiled Al Qaeda-linked plot to strike several targets across Amman to mark the anniversary of the November 11, 2005, triple hotel bombings.

The court, presided over by Judge Ahmad Tarawneh, set May 16 as the date for issuing the final verdict. 

The defendants are accused of having active ties with Al Qaeda in Iraq, now known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, and of travelling to Syria to receive funding and training to target various sites in a series of suicide and “guerrilla” style attacks.

In the initial charge sheet, security officials said the 11 men had received explosives and rockets from Syria to carry out the alleged attacks.

Also on Monday, the court sentenced two Jordanian Islamists to five years in prison for allegedly attempting to recruit citizens to join armed groups in the Gaza Strip.

In a decision handed down by Tarawneh, the court sentenced Issam Al Akby and Mahmoud Masharfeh to five-year prison terms for “joining armed groups” and “recruiting for armed terrorist organisations” in violation of Article 148 of the Penal Code. 

A third defendant, Abdullah Jawabreh, was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in absentia.