Day: April 17, 2022

Jordan saw the customs clearance of 10,300 vehicles during the January-March period of 2022, compared with 11,300 vehicles during the same period in 2021, President of the Jordanian Free Zones Association Mohammad Bustanji said on Sunday.

Speaking to the Jordan News Agency, Bustanji indicated that the reason for the decline in vehicle clearance this year is due to the reduced availability of new cars and the global shipping delays, all caused by the coronavirus pandemic and the Russian-Ukrainian war.

“In addition, the decline in the clearance of hybrid vehicles was due to the 55-per-cent tax which was imposed this year,” he added, urging the government to reconsider the decisions that affected the Jordanian Free Zones in general, and the automobile sector in particular

Meanwhile, a total of 8,931 vehicles were re-exported in the first three months of the year, compared with 9,646 vehicles in the same period of 2021.

SOURCE: JORDAN NEWS AGENCY

Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Saleh Kharabsheh said two online platforms, launched last Thursday, would increase investment in mineral resources and improve e-services.

According to a ministry statement on Sunday, Kharabsheh said that the two platforms were created by the Government Accelerators Center. He explained that the first platform facilitates the approval procedures of sales tax and customs fees exemptions for systems of renewable energy and energy consumption rationalization, with the aim of saving time and effort, eliminating the use of paper and switching to digital services.

He noted that that authorities involved in the first platform are Jordan Customs, Jordan Standards and Metrology Organization, and the Income and Sales Tax Department.

Recipients of the service can create an account for their company via the link: Exemp.memr.gov.jo, submit a request for any of three services: energy rationalization systems, power generation systems, water heating systems, and solar cells, and follow up with requests or transactions through their own accounts.

The Companies Control Department and Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply, he indicated, were linked online to share account creation data such as commercial registration and tax numbers.

The second platform, which aims at cutting red-tape in investment, connects concerned authorities to reduce time and effort, he added.

Director of Institutional Development at the Energy Ministry Shorouk Abdel Ghani said investors can choose from the following categories on the platform to apply to; petrol, oil shale, coal, and strategic minerals.

Under a partnership with the United Arab Emirates, the Government Accelerators Center was established late last year with the aim of coming up with effective solutions to challenges within 100 days. Last Thursday, the center announced solutions related to four areas of government service, including energy and mineral wealth, digital economy and entrepreneurship and the housing and urban development.

SOURCE: JORDAN NEWS AGENCY

Jordan warned Sunday against the Israeli occupation’s ongoing attempts to change the historical and legal status quo in the al-Aqsa Mosque/ al-Haram al-Sharif and impose temporal and spatial division.

In a statement, the spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Haitham Abul Foul described the attempt as a serious escalation and a violation of international law and Israel’s responsibilities as the occupying power.

He said that Israel bears full responsibility for the “serious consequences” of this escalation, which undermines efforts to maintain the comprehensive calm and prevent the escalation of violence that threatens peace and security.

He underscored the need for the international community to shoulder its responsibilities and take immediate action to pressure Israel to stop these practices.

The ministry also condemned the Israeli occupation’s police and forces ongoing raids on the al-Aqsa Mosque and the forced removal of worshippers, while extremists storm the holy mosque under police escort.

Abul Foul underlined that the al-Aqsa Mosque/ al-Haram al-Sharif in occupied Jerusalem, in its entire area of 144 dunums is purely a place of worship for Muslims and that the Jordanian-run Waqf (endowments) and al-Aqsa Affairs Administration in Jerusalem has the exclusive jurisdiction to run all the affairs of the holy site and organize entry to and exit from the compound.

He rejected Israeli statements alleging that occupation police has the right to allow non-Muslims to visit the compound, reiterating that the Waqf Administration has an exclusive right under the historical status quo.

The ministry, he added, continues to make contact and act on regional and international scales to stop the ongoing Israeli escalations, in addition to warning of their consequences, which undermine the comprehensive calm and push towards more violence and tension.

SOURCE: JORDAN NEWS AGENCY

Oman’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday condemned the Israeli occupation’s raids on the al-Aqsa Mosque and assaults on Muslim worshippers.

In a statement, the ministry denounced and rejected Israel’s provocative and illegal practices, in addition to Israeli occupying forces’ storming of the al-Aqsa Mosque/ al-Haram al-Sharif and attack on the unarmed worshippers.

These actions, it said, are a flagrant violation of international law and human rights and values, offering its sincere sympathies to the families of the victims and the injured.

It also called on the international community to shoulder its responsibility in achieving justice, enforcing law, putting an end to occupation and achieving peace by restoring the Palestinian people’s legitimate rights.

SOURCE: JORDAN NEWS AGENCY