Day: April 14, 2022

The government, on Thursday, signed a $33 million project with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to support rural communities facing water insecurity in Jordan.

Taking place in four Jordanian governorates including Madaba, Karak, Tafila and Ma’an through a mix of infrastructure investments, innovative technologies, climate-smart agricultural practices and knowledge sharing, the project seeks to improve water use and availability and influence climate change policy and action.

The total funding of the venture is $33 million, of which $25 million is a grant from the Green Climate Fund and the rest is financed by the government along with the FAO.

Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Nasser Shraideh, Minister of Water and Irrigation Mohammad Najjar, Minister of Agriculture Khaled Hneifat, and Minister of Environment Muawieh Radaideh along with FAO Representative in Jordan Nabil Assaf signed the agreement, according to a statement issued by the planning ministry.

The project is expected to help Jordan make progress on big development challenges – from adapting to climate change, improving water use and promoting green growth to reducing poverty.

Source: Jordan News Agency

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, on Thursday, expressed its condolences to the government and the people of the Republic of South Africa over the victims of floods, which struck the province of KwaZulu-Natal, killing and wounding dozens.

The ministry expressed the Kingdom’s solidarity with the government and people of the Republic of South Africa, wishing the injured a speedy recovery.

Source: Jordan News Agency

His Majesty King Abdullah has received cables of well wishes from leaders of Arab and friendly countries, who congratulated His Majesty on the successful surgery and wished him continued good health and wellbeing.

Senior officials and officers, and representatives of civil society organizations in the Kingdom also sent cables of well wishes to His Majesty.

Source: Jordan News Agency

The World Bank expected that the Consumer Price Index (CPI), a measurement of inflation, would rise to 3.3% in Jordan in 2022, compared to 1.3% in 2021, adding that the Kingdom’s inflation rate is projected to go down in 2023 to 2.5%.

In its World Bank MENA Economic Update, which was released Thursday, the bank also expected growth of the Jordanian economy to reach 2.1% in 2022, compared to the “actual” expansion achieved in 2021 that stood at 2%, raising the bank’s outlook for Jordanian economy’s growth 2023 to 2.3%.

The bank expected that the economies of the Middle East and North Africa region will grow by 5.2% in 2022, the fastest growth rate since 2016, thanks to the unexpected revenues from high oil prices, which are in the interest of the region’s oil-exporting countries.

However, uncertainty reigns with the unpredictable course of the war in Ukraine and the scientific uncertainty about the evolutionary path of the virus that causes COVID-19, the update said.

The World Bank, in latest Middle East and North Africa Economic Update, a twice-yearly forecast: “Reality Check: Forecasting Growth in the Middle East and North Africa in Times of Uncertainty,” said the economic recovery may be uneven as regional averages mask broad differences between countries.

Oil producers may benefit from elevated energy prices along with higher vaccination rates for COVID-19, while fragile countries lag. Per capita GDP, which is a more accurate measure of people’s standard of living, barely exceeds pre-pandemic levels due to a lackluster performance for most countries in 2020-2021, according to the bank’s update.

Source: Jordan News Agency

King Hussein International Airport (KHIA) in Aqaba welcomed 29,000 passengers last March, compared to 4,000 travelers in the same period last year, and 36,000 in 2019, according to the monthly travel data issued by the Civil Aviation Regulatory Commission (CARC) on Thursday.

The number of the airport’s aircraft movements (ACM) in March 2022 reached 576, compared to 200 flights during March 2021, and 430 for the same period 2019, CARC’s figures showed.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Queen Alia International Airport (QAIA)’s aircraft movements (ACM) last month recorded a growth of 28%, compared to the same month 2021, Civil Aviation Regulatory Commission (CARC) Chief Commissioner, Haitham Misto said.

In his interview with “Petra,” on Thursday, Mesto said QAIA’s inbound and outbound flights last March reached 5,076, which connected the Kingdom with a total of 72 direct international destinations, compared to 2195 ACMs during March 2021, and 6162 in the same period in 2019.

QAIA’s passenger traffic , Mesto noted, increased “significantly” in March, compared to the same month 2021 by 51%, as the number of arriving and departing passengers to QAIA reached some 561,000, compared to 160,000 travelers during March 2021 and 676,000 during the same month 2019.

The number of QAIA’s daily flights in March reached 164, compared to 71 ACMs during the same month 2021 and 199 in March 2019, he pointed out.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Minister of Transport, Wajih Azaiza, discussed with the Swedish Ambassador to Jordan, Alexandra Rydmark, ways of joint cooperation in the transport fields.

During the meeting, held Thursday, Azaiza and Rydmark stressed the need to open “wider” areas for joint cooperation , especially in exchanging expertise in the transport field in all its forms, due to its “remarkable” importance in advancing the economy, and as a ” major” economic driver.

The two sides also agreed on the need to intensify talks and consultations to serve the two countries’ citizens and help improve level of Jordan’s transport sector and facilitate procedures, according to a ministry statement.

Jordan is looking forward to more cooperation and assistance from the Swedish side in developing the Kingdom’s transport network, due to Sweden’s development and expertise in the transport industry, Azaiza said.

The minister also stressed the “deep-rooted” bilateral relations in all fields, especially the “distinguished” ties in the transport area, as the two countries have signed agreements in the field of land, maritime and air transport.

In addition, Azaiza presented the ministry’s projects currently being implemented, especially in regard to the railway transport field, highlighting its steps taken to prepare the necessary studies and plans for the “Jordanian Railway Network” project.

For her part, Rydmark confirmed her interest in Jordan’s transport sector, referring to the Swedish expertise in this field.

The diplomat also touched on the latest developments in the region’s issues and ways to enhance the “distinguished” bilateral relations in various fields, especially in the transport domain.

Source: Jordan News Agency

The Arab Investment and Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (Dhaman) said international credit rating agency Fitch Ratings has upgraded Jordan’s outlook, in relation to 2021 political, economic, financial and operational risks indices to stable.

According to a Dhaman statement Thursday, a copy of which was obtained by Petra, the Kingdom ranked 8th, with 83 points in 2021, compared to 95pts in 2020, with a 12-score improvement, in an index that presents Arab countries’ rankings globally.

At the level of Arab countries’ sovereign assessments by global rating agencies at the end of March, the statement noted Jordan ranked 7th in the Arab world, in a number of global indicators.

In this regard, the Kingdom obtained a stable future outlook, a sovereign assessment (B+) in (IHS) index, Intelligence Capital Index (ICI) and Standard and Poor’s and Moody’s.

Source: Jordan News Agency