Day: June 21, 2022

A specialized training program on 5G technology was launched in Amman on Tuesday with participants representing public and private stakeholders, as well as universities.

The two-day capacity-building program, hosted by the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) in cooperation with the International Association of Mobile Operators (GSMA), addresses the opportunities offered by 5G technology and related applications such as the Internet of Things.

“We, at TRC, always strive to advance our specialized know-how to have a say in the development of the communications and information technology sector and maximize the achievements in cooperation with our local and Arab partners,” said TRC Chief Commissioner Bassam al-Sarhan.

The commission has conducted an extensive study of the expected impact of 5G networks in recent years, he added, and is actively working to lay the groundwork for its rollout in the Kingdom.

Jawad Abbassi, GSMA’s Head of the Middle East & North Africa Region, expressed his delight at the association’s return to providing capacity-building programs in Jordan and the Arab world after a two-year hiatus caused by the coronavirus pandemic. He emphasized that the GSMA is committed to enhancing cooperation with TRC as well as expanding training opportunities.

Source: Jordan News Agency

A delegation from the National Defense College of Thailand (NDC) on Monday visited the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities to learn about Jordan’s diverse and unique tourism sites.

Secretary-General of the Ministry, Imad Hijazin, told the 34-strong delegation that Jordan’s tourist offering is diverse and features religious, cultural, therapeutic, and adventure tourism.

He also highlighted the Kingdom’s National Tourism Strategy of 2021-2025, which focuses on five main aspects: tourism product development, human resources, marketing, heritage management and protection, and reforms.

“Tourism is one of the most important sectors supporting the national economy, and it is a major contributor to providing job opportunities for Jordanians,” he said, noting that pre-pandemic tourism revenue in 2019 was JD4.1 billion, or more than 13% of GDP, with about 5.3 million visitors.

Major General Saksit Saengchanin, Director of the NDC’s Office of Security Sciences, said the visit is an opportunity to learn about Jordan’s expertise in tourism promotion and preservation, particularly of World Heritage sites.

Source: Jordan News Agency

The Jordan Summer Festival will begin on Friday, June 24, with activities taking place across the country from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.

The two-month festival will take place in pre-determined locations and will feature free entertainment and educational events for citizens and visitors of all ages.

The stages will host children’s plays and artistic events, as well as cultural and folkloric performances featuring Jordanian artists.

The detailed schedule of festival activities will be available on petra.gov.jo.

Source: Jordan News Agency

The Information and Communications Technology Association (int@j) has announced the names of the four companies that will be part of the Himayatech incubator’s second cohort.

The incubator is funded by the Innovative Startups and SMEs Fund in partnership with Zain Jordan and Zain Innovation Campus and in cooperation with Competence Management Consulting Co and Zad Tax Consulting Company.

Himayatech (protectiontech) is the first incubator of its kind in Jordan, according to an int@j statement released on Tuesday. It will provide cyber security startups with a 6-month dedicated training program.

Only four teams and companies were chosen from a total of 19 applicants for the second cohort: CVWorks, Green Shield, CyberClinic, and Joransom.

The second cohort is part of int@j’s two-year plan to train and qualify 15 Jordanian cybersecurity startups, according to chairman Amjad Swais.

He noted that startups from the first cohort will participate in all cybersecurity events held in Jordan, as well as the MENA ICT Forum 2022 in Deas Sea in November.

He also said that the third cohort will begin in November of this year with new participants.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Dozens of Jewish settlers and extremists Tuesday morning stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem and performed prayers.

The Department of Islamic Waqf and Al-Aqsa Mosque Affairs said in a statement that the hardliners made their way into the compound from Al Magharebah Gate in the walled Old City of Jerusalem under heavy police escort.

They carried out provocations, prompting protests from worshippers and the mosque’s guard.

Jewish hardliners carry out almost daily violations of the sanctuary in an attempt to impose temporal and spatial division of one of Islam’s holiest shrines.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Only $226 million, or 9.9 percent, of the Jordan Response Plan for the Syria Crisis’s (JRP) $2.28 billion funding requirements for 2022 were met, according to figures by the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation.

As a result, the plan remains largely unfunded, with a $2.054 billion deficit, or 90.1 percent of the total value of the required financing.

Of the $226 million already secured, $78.5 million went to support Syrian refugees, while about $59.1 million went to host communities.

In addition, $1.9 million was allocated to coronavirus pandemic response efforts, while $86.6 million was made available to infrastructure and institutional capacity building. There were no funds received by the state treasury.

It’s worth noting that only $744.4 million, or 30.6 percent, of the same plan for 2021 was funded, leaving a $1.687 billion, or 69.4 percent, deficit.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Minister of Agriculture Khaled Hanaifat inaugurated Tuesday the dry run phase of a $3-million United States-funded veterinary border control center in Mafraq.

During the ceremony, attended by Regional Representative of the United States Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service Elizabeth Mello, Hanaifat said that the Surra center, which is part of a national plan for sustainable agriculture, is a “protective shield and an impenetrable fence” in the face of epidemics, infectious and common diseases that may cross the borders affecting both humans and animals.

He stated that the center will conduct tests on exported and imported animal consignments or even those passing through the Kingdom to ensure their health safety and compliance with health requirements and quality standards to protect against diseases and their mutation.

This project was born out of a pressing need to upgrade the old control center and meet the World Organization for Animal Health’s health requirements, according to Hanaifat, who added that it benefits regional breeders, supports farmers economically, encourages newcomers to join this line of work, creates new sheep breeding job opportunities, and lays the groundwork for future growth.

Moreover, he pointed out that the ministry is looking to get funding for the maintenance of the old control center, at an estimated cost of JD600,000, to support to the new center and increase the number of exported animals during the peak season, especially sheep, to boost the livestock sector in the region.

For her part, Mello said that the grant for the center is part of the US Department of Agriculture’s Food for Development projects, estimated at $55 million to prop up the local agriculture and water sectors.

Detailing the control center project, the US official pointed out that the Surra center is part of 8 agricultural projects, noting that it is a “priority project” aimed at supporting small farmers, including livestock breeders, who have suffered from the negative effects of the waves of Syrian refugees and climate change.

Source: Jordan News Agency

A technical partnership meeting for the Mediterranean Basin Reuses project kicked off Tuesday in the Dead Sea.

The three-day meeting is organized by the Ministry of Local Administration through its waste department.

Jordan, along with partners in Spain, Italy, and Tunisia, has demonstrated “outstanding” waste management experience by developing clear plans that keep pace with global environmental conservation practices, according to a ministry statement.

The purpose of the meeting is to highlight international efforts and share expertise with partners in order to stay on track with waste management and use the best and most up-to-date practices.

The municipalities of Jordan’s Dair Alla, Italy’s Capannori, Spain’s Cordoba, and Tunisia’s Sakiet Ezzit highlighted their experiences and discussed the project’s development in the next six months, which is designed to include the reuse of food, clothes and electric tools.

Source: Jordan News Agency

The Consumer Price Index (CPI), a measure of inflation, inched up by 2.97 percent in the January-May period of the current year to 104.97 points against 101.94 points in the same period of 2021.

In its monthly report, the Department of Statistics (DoS) said that the main commodity groups, which contributed to this increase, were transport by 0.88 percentage points, fuel and lighting by 0.63 percentage points, vegetables, dried and canned legumes by 0.44 percentage points, meat and poultry by 0.19 percentage points, and culture and entertainment by 0.14 percentage points.

However, the prices of several commodities slightly dropped including beverages and refreshments by 0.03 percentage points, rentals by 0.02 percentage points, health-related commodities by 0.02 percentage points, and condiments, food enhancers and other foodstuffs by 0.01 percentage points.

On a monthly level, the DoS indicated that the CPI went up by 0.51, reaching 106.53 points in May compared to 105.99 in April.

Source: Jordan News Agency