Category: General

Domestic Revenue Mobilisation (DRM) rose to JOD3.37 billion during the January-May period, compared to JOD3.06 billion in the same period in 2021, a JOD3.07 million increase.

According to the Ministry of Finance, the increase in DRM was due to the JOD279.8 rise in tax and JOD28 million in non-tax revenue.

The increase in tax revenue was a direct result of the market recovery and the JOD198.5 million increase in income and profit tax revenues. The increase in revenue was made possible by not increasing taxes but by adopting stricter rules and the conformity of taxpayers to submit their annual income tax returns, in addition to effective reforms to the tax system that limited tax evasion.

The increase in non-tax revenues was due to a rise in the various revenues by JOD66.9 million, in light of the improvement in the performance of companies.

The total spending during the first five months of 2022 stood at JOD3.980 billion, a JOD203.5 million increase, as spending on social protection increased by JOD67.5 million.

Source: Jordan News Agency

The National Aid Fund (NAF) on Wednesday signed a cooperation agreement with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), to implement programs for children of NAF programs’ beneficiary families at the organization’s “Makani” centers (safe spaces to learn) and its partners and Ministry of Social Development’s directorates countrywide.

The agreement aims to enroll 1-18 year-children of households benefiting from the NAF’s initiatives to join programs implemented by Makani centers, a NAF statement said.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, NAF Acting Director General, Barq Dmour, said the agreement will work to upgrade the NAF’s digital and financial capabilities and skills.

Dmour noted the NAF is working to empower families benefiting from its programs economically and socially by providing a comprehensive package of social protection services, in addition to cash assistance programs.

For his part, Chief Social Protection and Policy, UNICEF Jordan, Manuel Rodriguez Pumarol, said NAF has witnessed “great” development, becoming an example at the regional and global levels.

UNICEF’s Makani centers will enable children to prepare to face behavioral, social, educational and health developments, he said, adding that work will be launched to improve NAF’s services.

Source: Jordan News Agency

10 (Petra)- Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Ayman Safadi, on Wednesday discussed with Canadian Minister of International Development Harjit Sajjan, opportunities to expand joint economic cooperation in agriculture, water, energy and trade areas, and benefit from Jordanian competencies in the Canadian labor market.

Speaking at their talks in Amman, Safadi and Sajjan stressed “effectiveness” of coordination channels in the development fields and keenness to develop “strong” friendly relations between the two countries.

Safadi lauded Canada’s efforts to support the Kingdom’s development process and help Jordan face economic challenges and consequences of regional crises, especially the refugee-related burdens.

Thanking Canada for its support to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Safadi stressed the need to continue providing the necessary assistance to enable the agency to carry out its duties, in accordance with its UN mandate.

The two ministers reviewed a number of regional and international issues of common interest and efforts to resolve the region’s crises, according to a Foreign Ministry statement.

Sajjan affirmed his country’s keenness to enhance cooperation relations with the Kingdom, expressing his country’s appreciation for the Kingdom’s main role in efforts aimed to bolster the region’s security and stability.

Canada is currently implementing a slew of development projects in Jordan, in the energy, water, environment and education fields, through Sustainable Energy and Economic Development Project (SEED).

In 2012, the two countries signed a free trade agreement that facilitated trade exchange, which amounted to $106.7 million in 2020.

Source: Jordan News Agency

The Arab Group at the United Nations on Monday praised Jordan’s continued efforts to protect the historical and legal status quo of the city of Jerusalem, under the Hashemite custodianship assumed by His Majesty, King Abdullah II.

In the statement, the Arab Group welcomed the cease-fire that ended Israel’s military operation in the Gaza Strip, as well as Egypt and Qatar’s crucial role in brokering the accord.

The statement was made by the Permanent Representative of Jordan to the United Nations, Ambassador Mahmoud Hmoud, who chairs the Arab Group for the month of August, during an emergency meeting of the Security Council devoted to the latest events in the Gaza Strip.

Hmoud indicated that the Israeli aggression against Gaza reflects the absence of the basic two-State solution, calling on the international community to provide international protection to the Palestinian people and to investigate violations against civilians, notably children.

“Comprehensive peace and security will be achieved by a return to serious and effective negotiations to reach a two-state solution, which embodies the independent and sovereign Palestinian state based on the lines of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with the international legitimacy, the Security Council’s resolutions, and the Arab Peace Initiative”, he indicated.

The Envoy also called for stopping all Israeli unilateral, provocative, and escalatory acts of aggression in Al Aqsa Mosque/ Al-Haram Al-Sharif, which is, with its total area of 144 dunums, a place of worship for Muslims only, while the Jordan-run Jerusalem Awqaf and Aqsa Affairs Department is the sole authority to supervise its affairs.

Source: Jordan News Agency

The Anti-Narcotics Department (AND), in coordination with the security services and the Jordan Customs Department (JCD), on Tuesday, thwarted an attempt to smuggle 60,000 captagon pills hidden inside a plastic container at Jordan’s Jaber border crossing with Syria.

A spokesperson for the Public Security Directorate said that AND personnel found a suspicious container in one of the crossing facilities.

“It contained packs of cigarettes stuffed with captagon narcotic pills,” he added, noting that the investigation to apprehend those involved is still ongoing.

Source: Jordan News Agency

China on Tuesday launched the CERES-1 Y3 carrier rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China.

The rocket blasted off at noon, as the third flight mission of the CERES-1 rocket series, sending three satellites into the planned orbit.

Source: Jordan News Agency

The Lower House on Monday passed an amendment to the Constitutional Court law in line with recent constitutional amendments.

The amendments to Articles 60 and 61 included easing the terms to contest or request an interpretation of a decision with the Constitutional Court through a vote of a quarter, not a majority, of any of the Senate or Lower House members.

During a session chaired by Speaker Abdul Karim Dughmi and attended by cabinet ministers, lawmakers amended the article on the terms for court membership, in accordance with the current designations of courts (the Higher Administrative Court), raising to 20 years the term of service required for a lawyer to be a court member.

The lawmakers annulled the clause on the appointment of three members every two years and settled on the appointment by the King of a minimum of nine members for six non-renewable years.

The amendment also authorized a court dealing with a case on the unconstitutionality of a law or system to directly refer the case to the Constitutional Court, not the Court of Cassation as was previously the case.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Jordan Chamber of Commerce (JCC) President Nael Kabariti and Syrian Minister of Economy and Foreign Trade Mohammad al-Khalil discussed enhancing economic ties between the two neighboring countries.

During a meeting on Sunday in Damascus, the two sides said the private sector in both countries is interested in holding a Jordanian-Syrian economic forum and exhibition of Jordanian products in the Syrian capital during the first week of October.

Kabariti and al-Khalil underscored the need to expand cooperation in trade, investment, and economic fields through executive programs that will be mutually agreed upon, the JCC said in a statement .

It stressed the chamber’s commitment to boosting economic ties and opening new scopes for Jordanian industries to increase trade with Syria.

The Syrian minister, for his part, highlighted the deep-rooted relations with Jordan, underlining the need to advance trade partnerships to benefit both nations.

Source: Jordan News Agency

More than 2.5 million people visited Jordan in the January-July period of 2022, a 220 percent increase over the same period in 2021.

The number exceeded the 1.88 million visitors expected in the Jordan National Tourism Strategy 2021-2025.

According to a monthly report by the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, the total number of overnight tourists increased by 206.7 percent during the same period.

Overnight visitors from Europe increased by 526.4 percent, followed by the Arab Gulf with 404.8 percent and the Americas with 307.3 percent.

In July alone, the number of visitors increased by 125.1 percent, reaching 587,248.

The Kingdom’s tourism income increased by 242.7 percent in the first half of 2022, reaching USD2.196 billion, according to data released by the Central Bank of Jordan.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Choosing the Kingdom as the venue for this year’s forum is a recognition by the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI) of the role and effective efforts the Kingdom plays to promote financial inclusion, according to the Governor of the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ), Adel Sharkas, who spoke to Petra on Sunday.

He said that the forum provides an opportunity to highlight Jordan’s financial and banking sector’s excellence at the regional and global levels, as well as the Kingdom’s efforts to achieve sustainable economic growth and improve economic and financial stability through financial inclusion policies and strategies.

Sharkas noted that the GPF is the world’s most important annual financial inclusion event, bringing together government representatives and representatives from more than 100 international regulatory institutions and central banks from 90 AFI member countries.

Heads of international companies and organizations, financial and banking experts and technicians will also participate in the forum to discuss financial inclusion initiatives and policies and to share their experiences and knowledge.

He explained that the four-day forum will highlight Jordan’s progress in promoting financial inclusion, noting that the Kingdom has increased financial inclusion from 33.1 to 43.1 percent, as measured by account ownership, and reduced the gender gap from 53 to 22 percent.

According to the governor of the Central Bank of Jordan, the GPF is an opportunity to present Jordan as an investment magnet and to establish partnerships with various international institutions to develop financial and banking products for all segments of society.

The Central Bank will launch the 2023-2025 Financial Inclusion Strategy under the theme “Responsible and Sustainable Access to and Use of Financial Services and Products for Different Groups of Society” by the end of this year, Sharkas revealed.

The 2022 AFI GPF will explore the role that financial inclusion plays in mitigating the impact of the pandemic on the underserved and vulnerable populations to ensure that recovery is fully inclusive, green, and sustainable.

The AFI is a leading global network of financial inclusion initiatives and policies, founded in 2008 and headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Its mission is to assist policymakers around the world in formulating inclusive and sustainable financial policies for greater inclusion and access to underserved groups.

Source: Jordan News Agency