Day: May 11, 2024

Temperatures will drop on Saturday and the weather will be dusty and warm almost countrywide and hot in the Badia, Jordan Valley, Dead Sea and Aqaba regions, with a weak possibility of light showers in the morning hours in the Kingdom’s northern regions, Jordan Meteorological Department (JMD) said in its daily update.

According to the JMD report, Sunday will see another drop in mercury and the weather will be pleasant almost nationwide and relatively hot in the Jordan Valley, the Dead Sea, and Aqaba.

On Monday, temperatures will continue to drop and the weather will be fair and relatively hot in the Jordan Valley, the Dead Sea and Aqaba, with a weak possibility of light and scattered showers of rain in the Kingdom’s northern areas.

Also today, temperatures in the capital Amman will hit a high of 30 degrees Celsius, dropping to 13? at night, while the port city of Aqaba will hit a blazing 39? during the day, sliding to 24? during night hours.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Amman Chamber of Industry (ACI)’s exports restored their growth momentum during the first third of the current year 2024, after their decline over past periods.

The ACI’s exports surged during the January-April period of the 2024 by 2%, compared to the same period last year, driven by an increase in exports of most sectors with the exception of three, which recorded a decline.

According to statistical data obtained by “Petra,” the chamber’s exports during the first four months of this year amounted to JD2.279 billion, compared to JD2.225 billion for the same period last year.

Seven sectors recorded an increase in their exports by a rate ranging between 2% for the engineering, electrical, and information technology industries, and 54% for the chemical and cosmetics industries.

In contrast, exports of the remaining three sectors dropped by a rate ranging between 1% for the packaging, paper, cardboard, and office supplies industries, and 35% for the mining industries, the ACI figures showed.

Arab and foreig
n countries combined accounted for more than half of the chamber’s exports during the first third of 2024, which are: India, the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq, recording a value of JD1.532 billion.

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The ACI’s exports to the United States increased by 100% during the first third of 2024, reaching about JD723 million, compared to JD360 million for the same period last year, making it at the forefront of the Arab and foreign countries that import ACI’s exports, the ACI’s data revealed.

Additionally, the ACI’s exports to Iraq also went up by 24% during the first third of the current year, recording a value of JD291 million, compared to JD234 million during the same period last year.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Jordan’s Embassy in Washington DC Saturday and the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) hosted an event entitled: Why Jordan is your next partner in the Pre- and Post- Silicon Semiconductor Supply Chain.

The event discussed Jordan’s competitiveness in terms of cost, strategic political and economic relations, the enabling environment, the protection of intellectual property rights, the focus on sustainability and decision-makers commitment to providing the appropriate environment for industry requirements.

The CEO of The Fifth Company and former Minister of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship, Muthanna Gharaibeh, discussed Jordan’s role in the chip industry.

The event highlighted Jordan’s competitive advantages in the chip industry, especially its qualified workforce and free trade agreement with the United States.

Gharaibeh said, “Jordan has the largest ratio of engineers to population in the world and has a proven track record in developing technical personnel for giant American companies such as Ci
sco, Microsoft, Amazon and Juniper.

“Digital jobs have grown 19 per cent annually during the past four years, which confirms the country’s commitment to building its competencies.”

The Director of Global Policy at the Semiconductor Industry Association, Jennifer Ming, said, “The American chip industry is working with its allies and other countries to increase the flexibility of supply chains.”

Ming added that the CHIPS law has sparked global competition to attract this industry and that the “window is available for a limited period.”

The Director of the Middle East Programme at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, John Alterman, discussed Jordan’s “advantage of human capital.”

He lauded the Kingdom’s investment environment that allows transactions in the US dollar and competitive wages.

Source: Jordan News Agency

The Russian Foreign Ministry Saturday said Ukrainian forces are actively using British weapons to strike Russian territory and infrastructure.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a press statement: “In bilateral contacts between Russia and Britain, we confirm that the British side continues to support Ukraine with weapons, leading to further escalation and losses among civilians.”

Source: Jordan News Agency

Israeli forces Saturday killed six Palestinians after targeting a group of civilians on Abu Hosni Street in the city of Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.

Separately, Israeli warplanes conducted what is locally known as a “fire belt” in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip and carried out raids west of Gaza City.

Source: Jordan News Agency

The Director General of the Food and Drug Administration, Nizar Mheidat, and the Head of the Egyptian National Food Safety Authority, Tariq Houbi, Saturday discussed cooperation.

According to a statement, the meeting between the two officials was held in Amman following the Jordanian-Egyptian Higher Committee’s recommendations, which recently convened in Cairo.

Mheidat affirmed the Administration’s readiness to enhance cooperation in areas of common interest and its welcome for developing joint programmes and work mechanisms and exchanging technical expertise.

In turn, Houbi discussed establishing a mechanism to exchange food monitoring results in the two countries, the risks incurred and the control and tracking mechanism.

He noted the “importance” of an early warning system, the possibility of matching the standards approved in inspection based on international references and scientific foundations and concluding a memo to overcome obstacles facing the exchange of food products.

The meeting focused on
adopting certificates of origin for foodstuffs and freedom of sale certificates containing food ingredients issued by specialised authorities electronically and exchanging certificates of conformity for food commodities between the two countries.

For her part, Mona Abboud, head of the Commercial Representation Office at the Egyptian Embassy in Amman, confirmed that the relations between the two countries are “complementary, as they have close and extended ties that have contributed to increasing bilateral trade exchange.”

Source: Jordan News Agency

The civil defense authority in Gaza said Saturday that 70 to 80 percent of its facilities and capabilities were destroyed in the ongoing Israeli war, and appealed for world countries and civil protection institutions to look at “the catastrophic reality” of humanitarian service providers.

In a statement, it called on the United Nations and humanitarian institutions for immediate intervention to bring in engineering and rescue equipment and machinery to recover bodies from the rubble of destroyed homes and buildings, and provide fuel for civil defense vehicles.

Forty days after Israeli troops withdrew from Dar Al Shifa Medical Complex, civil defense crews were still pulling bodies of people who were killed and buried in mass graves, it said.

“The suffering of the Civil Defense in the Gaza Strip continues with the collapse of its work system, which was destroyed by the Israeli occupation forces. We have been working for months with very primitive means and tools, which takes much time and effort.”

Source:
Jordan News Agency

The second phase of the “food baskets” aid program for Gaza was launched Saturday with trucks heading from Jordan to the war-torn enclave.

An aid convoy will be dispatched overland in cooperation between the Qatar Red Crescent and the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organization (JHCO), and in coordination with the Jordan Red Crescent, in the presence of Qatari Ambassador Sheikh Saud Al Thani, according to a JHCO statement.

It includes about 12,000 food parcels on board 24 trucks, which will head from the JHCO’s warehouses in Al-Ghabawi to the King Hussein Bridge and on to Karem Abu Salem crossing on the Gaza border, it said.

The aid shipment will be received by the Qatar Red Crescent office in Gaza, which will distribute supplies to displaced families in a number of locations, added the statement.

Each 30-kilogram parcel with basic items such as rice, lentils, flour, oil and canned food, is enough for one family for one month, it said.

The multi-phased aid project, which began on the second day of Eid al Fitr,
will be implemented successively, as a total of 23,500 food parcels, about 700 tons, will be distributed, the statement said.

In remarks during the ceremony, the Qatari ambassador thanked Jordanian charitable organizations for facilitating the work of Qatari humanitarian institutions “that serve the common interests of the two brotherly countries and enhance security and stability in the region and the world.”

JHCO Secretary-General Hussein Shibli said the aid project is a fruit of the longstanding partnership between his organization and the Qatari Red Crescent, adding that “we are constantly working to bolster partnerships and cooperation with various humanitarian organizations to achieve the ultimate goal of delivering aid and standing by our people in Gaza.”

Source: Jordan News Agency

A delegation from the Jordan Chamber of Commerce (JCC) and President of UAE Federation of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FCCI) and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ADCCI), Abdulla Mohamed Al Mazrui, discussed ways to enhance joint cooperation and coordination relations to serve the two countries’ commercial and investment interests.

According to a JCC statement Saturday, the meeting, which was held at the FCCI’s headquarters, went over mutual cooperation mechanisms on exchanging information, visits by trade delegations and expertise, as well as exploiting the two countries’ available investment and trade opportunities by establishing joint partnerships.

The delegation, which included the JCC Chairman, Khalil Hajj Tawfiq, other industry chambers’ heads and members, affirmed that Jordan and the UAE share “deep-rooted” relations in various fields and reached “advanced” levels of joint coordination and cooperation, especially regarding mutual commercial, investment and project
s in multiple strategic sectors with added value.

During the meeting, the delegation noted Jordan’s commercial and service sector is looking forward to increasing and expanding Emirati investments in the Kingdom and boosting cooperation in a number of sectors, according to a JCC statement.

The delegation also pointed to Jordan’s reforms aimed to develop the investment environment and make transactions “easier” for investors and business owners.

For his part, Haj Tawfiq referred to multiple opportunities available to enhance prospects for joint trade exchange by focusing on the sectors of agriculture, tourism, foodstuffs, information technology, pharmaceutical industries, and mining.

Haj Tawfiq stressed that the JCC will work to organize a visit for an Emirati economic delegation to the Kingdom.

Haj Tawfiq stated that the Kingdom welcomes increased trade and investment cooperation with the UAE and steps to build “lasting” partnerships between businessmen and merchants, indicating that JCC will work to pro
vide the FCCI with investment opportunities available in the Kingdom.

Meanwhile, Al Mazrui stressed the “depth of the historic” relations, which were strengthened under the two countries’ leaderships, stressing that this policy stimulates the private sector to build on them and advance their trade relations to “higher” levels that meet ambitions.

Al Mazrui noted the UAE private sector has a “strong” desire and “true” willingness to increase Emirati investments in the Kingdom and strengthen them in more vital sectors, adding that FCCI is “keen” to strengthen its relations with JCC to serve common interests.

The Kingdom’s exports to the UAE during the past year 2023 amounted to about JD327 million, compared to JD977 million in imports, official data showed.

Source: Jordan News Agency