Jordan News UpdatesPrime Minister Bisher Khasawneh on Thursday arrived in Ramallah on an official visit to the West Bank where he is scheduled to meet with his Palestinian counterpart and co-chair the meetings of the Joint Jordanian-Palestinian Higher Committee which will convene in Ramallah today.
Source: Jordan News Agency
Anti-Narcotics Department (AND) personnel have arrested four suspected drug dealers in possession of 40,000 drug pills and three kilos of crystal substance, the Public Security Directorate (PSD) spokesperson said on Tuesday.
AND agents received a tip-off on the suspect and confirmed information about a person possession of a crystal substance in Ramtha district, and he was arrested along with his accomplice.
In another case, AND agents arrested two suspects, in Zarqa governorate, with the intention of selling and promoting 40,000 pills.
The four suspects were referred to the State Security Court’s prosecutor, the spokesperson added.
Source: Jordan News Agency
A delegation of the Jordanian parliamentary friendship committee with Gulf Countries and Yemen has held separate meetings in Riyadh with a number of senior Saudi officials, during which they discussed means to develop bilateral parliamentary cooperation mechanisms.
A statement by the committee on Thursday said talks during the meetings tackled the deep-rooted relationship between Jordan and Saudi Arabia, and the importance of developing trade exchange; which stood at $5 billion in 2021.
The Jordanian officials also highlighted the need to connect the electric power grids of the two countries through a transmission line, expressing Jordan’s willingness to boost bilateral technical cooperation.
The delegates also affirmed Jordan’s endeavor to attract more Saudi investments, and embark trade partnerships with Saudi Arabia’s private sector.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ayman Safadi, on Thursday, met with representatives and regional directors of specialized agencies, programs and funds affiliated to the United Nations in Jordan.
In an expanded meeting at the ministry headquarters with the UN officials, the two sides agreed to form a working group that brings together the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates and representatives of United Nations agencies to determine the priorities for the work of the next phase.
They also agreed on the necessary steps to strengthen the partnership between Jordan and the UN organizations and address any challenges, provided that the working group completes its mission within a month.
Safadi praised the key role implemented by the United Nations and its organizations operating in Jordan in promoting the development process, building capacities and meeting the needs of refugees.
For his part, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Jordan, Anders Pedersen praised the Kingdom’s efforts in hosting Syrian refugees, and the depth of Jordan’s relationship with the United Nations system in the Kingdom.
Source: Jordan News Agency
Khasawneh said His Majesty King Abdullah II “faithfully” carries out responsibility for extending care to Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, adding that Jordan is confronting any attempts aimed at changing the historical and existing situation in the city.
For his part, the Palestinian PM valued Jordan’s stances, led by His Majesty King Abdullah II, in support of the Palestinian cause and care extended to holy sites in Al-Quds Al-Sharif.
He also valued Jordan’s support for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and stressed the importance of preserving its symbolism for the refugee issue.
Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply Youssef Shamali and the Palestinian Minister of National Economy Khaled Aseeli highlighted outcomes of the Preparatory Committee’s work on the agreed upon mechanisms of cooperation, implementation and follow-up by periodic reports on progress.
The Jordanian and Palestinian sides signed 9 memoranda of understanding and executive programs, at the closing session of Jordanian-Palestinian Joint Higher Committee meetings, which covered many areas.
The two PMs also signed the minutes of the committee’s 6th session meetings.
The agreements signed included a MoU in the field of social development, two executive programs for cultural cooperation for 2022-2025, and educational cooperation for 2022-2024, respectively, and a MoU for cooperation in the free zones fields.
Another MoU on joint electronic interconnection and an executive program of the cooperation protocol between the Ministry of Youth and the Palestinian Supreme Council for Youth and Sports in the youth field were signed.
Moreover, Jordan News Agency (Petra) and the Palestine News and Information Agency (WAFA) signed a joint cooperation program, in addition to an executive program for activating the technical cooperation protocol between Jordan’s Ministry of Investment and Palestinian Investment Promotion Agency (PIPA) and an executive program to carry out the MoU for mutual recognition of conformity certificates.
Source: Jordan News Agency
The Zarqa Chamber of Commerce (ZCC) has participated in the 10th Arab-Hellenic Economic Forum, which concluded yesterday in Athens.
Hussein Shraim, president of the ZCC and member of the Jordan Chamber of Commerce (JCC), said the forum is a step towards boosting Arab-Greek economic relations, increasing trade exchange volumes and establishing investment and trade partnerships.
Over the course of two days, participants discussed climate change, enhancement of Arab-Greek cooperation in green renewable energy, challenges and opportunities in the maritime navigation field, in addition to expertise exchange to build infrastructure projects and establish consistent cooperation.
Through meetings and work papers, the participants also discussed prospects of cooperation in the investment and tourism field and incentives that stimulate investment in the real estate sector.
On sidelines of the forum, many bilateral meetings were held between Greek businessmen and Arab counterparts and representatives of different commercial and industrial sectors.
Source: Jordan News Agency
Investment Ministry, on Thursday, in cooperation with the Dutch embassy in Amman and its counterpart in Abu Dhabi held a promotional seminar at the Jordanian Pavilion in Dubai.
With a participation of more than 30 Dutch businessmen, who chair mega companies, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Investment, Commissioner General of the Jordanian Pavilion in Expo 2020, Zaher Qatarneh said that the government considers the investment issue as a top priority, as the establishment of the ministry came to unify all investment-related references, to come under a single umbrella, and create an attractive investment climate.
Qatarneh pointed out that the Kingdom enjoys an attractive investment climate with various export markets, in addition to free trade agreements that link Jordan with a number of trading partners.
During the seminar, He added that the Ministry of Investment is constantly reviewing investment-related procedures in accordance with best international practices.
Source: Jordan News Agency
China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) on Thursday urgently approved a registration request of two antibody Covid-19 drugs for teenagers and adults, making it the first treatment of its kind to get the green light in the country.
The antibody cocktail medicine, obtained from isolated antibodies of cured people, was developed by Tsinghua University, Third People’s Hospital of Shenzhen and Brii Biosciences (Brii Bio).
The NMPA said the drugs can be used to treat common and mild cases that are at risk of progressing in severity, for people of the age group 12-17.
Source: Jordan News Agency
The Health Ministry, on Thursday, announced that the Kingdom has registered the first two cases of Omicron variant in Jordan.
The ministry told Petra that the first case was for a Jordanian, who came from South Africa and he is now isolated in a hotel in Amman for a period of 14 days.
It added that the second case is also for a Jordanian who is inside the Kingdom, adding that epidemiological investigation is underway to identify the reason behind the second infection.
Source: Jordan News Agency
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates on Thursday extended condolences to the government and people of India over a helicopter crash that claimed the lives of the Indian Chief of Defense Staff Gen Bipin Rawat, his wife and 11 others.
Source: Jordan News Agency