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AMMAN — The Syrian crisis has negatively affected trade between Jordan and Ukraine, with the trade volume dropping by 26 per cent in 2013 compared to 2012 due to the difficulty of using Syrian territory to transport goods, the Ukrainian ambassador said on Tuesday

Ambassador Sergey Pasko added that the bilateral trade volume stood at $426 million in 2013.

Jordan’s exports to Ukraine suffered the most, witnessing a 50 per cent drop last year compared to 2012.

“As an embassy cooperating with Jordanian businessmen, we do all that we can to improve trade between the two countries,” said the envoy.

Currently, he said, Ukraine imports from Jordan through Israel, mostly fruit and vegetables.

Meanwhile, the ambassador said Ukraine is interested in importing phosphates from the Kingdom, but the price of Jordanian phosphate is 50 per cent higher than other countries.

“We are negotiating [with] Jordan on the prices, and this issue will be discussed in the third meeting of the joint Jordanian-Ukrainian committee… in May this year in Amman,” the ambassador said at a press conference on Tuesday to mark his country’s day of unity and freedom, celebrated annually on January 22 to mark the unification of central-eastern and western Ukraine.

The envoy also noted that relations between Jordan and Ukraine are “distinguished”, citing His Majesty King Abdullah’s visit to Ukraine in 2011 and his President Viktor Yanukovych’s visit to Jordan in 2012, which contributed to boosting bilateral ties.

The establishment of the Ukrainian-Jordanian Friendship Society in 2013 is also a step forward towards enhancing people-to-people relations, according to the ambassador.

There are currently 4,500 Jordanians studying in Ukraine, and the majority of them are enrolled at medical schools.

Over the past three years, there was a 10 per cent annual rise in the number of Jordanians studying in Ukraine, according to Pasko, who said that the increase is related to the regional turmoil, which forced some Jordanians to leave the region to continue their studies in his country.

A few years ago, “there [were] complaints about the quality of education in some universities in Ukraine from Jordanian ministers of higher education and health, but this has changed recently,” the ambassador said, adding that the quality is much better now, and some well-known Jordanian doctors are graduates of Ukrainian medical schools.

“Jordan is known as one of the best destinations for medical tourism, and we are interested in expanding cooperation… in this field,” he noted.

The ambassador added that the speaker of the Ukrainian parliament and a number of MPs will visit Jordan in the first half of this year to meet local officials.

AMMAN — After reaching the $1 million (around JD708,000) target for the King Hussein Cancer Centre (KHCC) expansion project, the Jordanian mission to scale Mount Kilimanjaro now aims at reaching JD1 million (around $1.4 million).

HH Princess Dina Mired, director general of the King Hussein Cancer Foundation, noted that such fund-raising campaigns will enable KHCC to provide medical services for more patients.

“This initiative is a great example of what we can achieve collectively as individuals and groups to support the mission of the centre,” she said at a press conference to launch the mission on Tuesday.

It is part of the “From the lowest point to the highest point for cancer” initiative, led by Mostafa Salameh, the first Jordanian to climb the seven highest peaks in the world.

The team consists of 22 other members, including HH Prince Mired, Princess Dina and two photographers.

“We always encourage all initiatives that are concerned with maintaining a healthy lifestyle and that utilise sports for a good cause,” Salameh said.

The trek to climb the highest peak in Africa is scheduled to start on February 4, reaching the summit on February 9 or 10, according to Salameh.

Farah Yasin, a university student who is participating in the expedition, said she is doing it to honour the soul of her brother who was supposed to take part in the previous expedition to Everest.

“Osama passed away before he could take that trek, so I am participating in this mission to celebrate his memory,” she told The Jordan Times.

Farah played a role in spreading awareness among her peers about the mission by presenting the cause and selling the campaign’s bracelets.

Last year, 21 Jordanians embarked on a journey in late March from the lowest point on Earth, the Dead Sea, to nearly the highest point on Earth — the Mount Everest Base Camp, returning to Jordan in April.

Individuals and groups can donate for the expansion project, which is expected to cost $186 million, even after the new expedition is completed by calling the KHCC at 06/5544960 or visiting www.cancerpledges.com.

AMMAN — Farmers in Jordan can now apply for low-interest personal loans to replace their diesel-powered equipment with solar energy.

The solar power project, to be financed by the Agricultural Credit Corporation (ACC), will be primarily centred on helping farmers reduce their energy bill and encouraging eco-friendly practices in Jordan.

ACC Director General Mohammad Hiyari said the loans are an integral part of the government's endeavour to address energy woes in the Kingdom.

Hiyari added that because most of the agricultural equipment in Jordan is diesel-powered, "which literally means high cost", helping farmers install heat-absorbing panels on their farms will help them reduce their energy bill that "devours most of their income".

Farmers will be given up to JD30,000 to install solar panels on their farms, he said, and they can start applying for the low-interest loan, which was unveiled around 10 days ago.

The loan, with a maturity period of eight years, carries an interest rate of 7 per cent that could go down to 3.5 per cent, Hiyari told The Jordan Times over the phone on Tuesday.

He also explained that the ACC only provides the funding, while the technicalities of renewable energy projects, in terms of solar power technology and installation of the panels, will be decided by the companies farmers choose to deal with.

"No farmer has applied yet for the loan simply because the ACC's 22 branches have received the circular only three days ago," he said.

In October last year, the Cabinet decided to increase the ACC's capital by JD10 million, to reach JD60 million.

Hiyari added that the ACC has allocated loans worth JD134 million as part of the 2103-2016 National Strategy for Agricultural Development, noting that 5,800 farmers benefited from the corporation's loans in 2013 which totalled JD29 million.

AMMAN — A company tasked with managing and administrating visa applications to Saudi Arabia and Saudi officials have stressed that the company’s mandate in Jordan does not conflict with the interests of agencies arranging Hajj and umra trips.

During a recent meeting with key public and private stakeholders held at the Ministry of Tourism, VFS TasHeel and Saudi officials attending the meeting said the company’s operations in Jordan would not affect businesses that organise trips for the greater and lesser Muslim pilgrimages to Mecca.

In a statement issued recently, the company said it handles the visa application process for most types of visas to Saudi Arabia, but not Hajj and umra visas.

Representatives of Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry also clarified that key decisions made regarding visa protocol — including fees and approvals — are “at the sole discretion of the Saudi government, and are not within the purview of VFS TasHeel”.

The other key job of the company in Jordan is to implement the biometrics system in the coming months.

The Saudi government, the statement said, has tasked VFS TasHeel with the collection of all biometric data “although certain categories of travellers will be exempted from this requirement.”

“The [Saudi] government has made this decision in an effort to further ease and facilitate the travel process,” the statement said.

AMMAN — The Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) has given street vendors until the end of February to stop displaying their goods on the capital’s pavements, a GAM official said on Tuesday.

There are no “licensed street vendors”, according to Ahmad Ebbini, the director of GAM’s department to regulate street vendors.

“We receive many complaints from shopkeepers around the capital saying that the presence of these vendors has a negative impact on their business,” Ebbini told The Jordan Times over the phone.

GAM said in a statement sent to The Jordan Times that these vendors disrupt traffic and have negative effects on public health.

Ebbini noted that GAM has initiated a campaign against street stalls in several parts of the capital.

“Three days ago, we implemented a campaign in Wihdat and I can assure you that the area is now clean. On Wednesday, we will also organise field inspections in Jubeiha and the Sports City area,” he added.

Ebbini noted that the main destinations for these vendors are the capital’s suburbs, such as Bayader, Sweileh and Marka.

The GAM statement quoted Amman Mayor Aqel Biltaji as saying that vendors in areas like Abdali, where many residents and tourists shop for second-hand clothes during the weekend, as well as Quraish and King Talal streets in downtown Amman will also have to close up shop.

Ebbini noted that some vendors own several street stalls and lease them out to others.

“These people pay rent for the location in addition to a percentage of their profits. Some vendors own around 50 stalls,” he added.

Despite the crackdown, some street vendors return after GAM inspectors leave, according to Ebbini, who said GAM teams do what they can to cover all parts of the capital.

“Sometimes they come back 30 minutes after we leave,” he added.

In September last year, the municipality removed street stalls in Bayader under a campaign that also targeted Marka, Sweileh, downtown Amman and Jabal Hussein, areas known to be popular with vendors.

AMMAN — The Social Security Corporation (SSC) on Tuesday organised a training programme for journalists, designed to familiarise them with the new Social Security Law.

The new law is awaiting His Majesty King Abdullah’s ratification under a Royal Decree after it was endorsed by both Houses of Parliament. It will go into effect once published in the Official Gazette.

The new regulations governing early retirement stipulate that eligible subscribers should either be above 50 and have a minimum of 252 paid subscriptions for men and 228 for women, or have 300 paid subscriptions and be above the age of 45.

SSC Media Director Musa Subeihi said the pensions of early retirees will be linked with inflation rates annually after male subscribers are above 60 and female subscribers are above 55.

The allowance for family members supported by retirees increased from 10 per cent to 12 per cent for the first dependent, and from 5 per cent to 6 per cent for the second and third.

The new law seeks to eliminate the phenomenon of high pensions, he told journalists.

“Salaries eligible for social security deductions can only be up to JD3,000,” Subeihi said, noting that there are currently 117 retirees with pensions exceeding JD5,000 per month.

Widows can combine their pensions, disability insurance or salaries with their share from those of their husbands, he added.

Employers and self-employed individuals are expected to abide by the new law no later than January 1, 2015.

In the case of occupational hazard insurance, the new law gives the employer up to 14 work days after a worker’s injury to report the incident to the SSC, instead of seven days as stipulated in the old law, said Firas Shatnawi, director of the occupational safety department at the SSC.

If there are any delays in reporting a work injury, the institution will pay 15 per cent of the medical bill and the worker’s daily stipend. However, the injured worker or his family have up to four months to report the injury if the institution does not.

Moreover, the new law compensates employees in case of accidents on their way to and from work as long as they take the “usual route or an acceptable alternative”, according to the SSC officials.