Day: April 23, 2023

Chief of the Royal Hashemite Court Yusuf al-Issawi Sunday participated in the funeral of former Prime Minister Mudar Badran.

Al-Issawi, who attended on behalf of His Majesty King Abdullah II, conveyed the King’s condolences to the family and relatives of Badran.

Badran held the position of Prime Minister four times, as he held the position of Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Defence twice between 1976 and 1979 and the Prime Minister and Minister of Defence between 1980 and 1984 AD and between 1989 and 1991.

Source: Jordan News Agency

The official spokesman for Jordan’s Foreign Ministry, Sinan Majali, Sunday said the ministry is following up on the holding of MP Imad Adwan by Israeli authorities who claim he had smuggled arms and gold into the occupied West Bank.

Majali said the ministry, in cooperation with the competent authorities in Jordan, is working to find out the details of the issue and address it.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Four Royal Air Force planes Sunday took off from Marka Military Airport to Sudan to evacuate 308 Jordanians and other nationals.

The four planes took off to evacuate stranded Jordanians from war-torn Sudan in coordination with the Foreign Ministry. The Jordanian Armed Forces said it would announce developments and declare the number of evacuees.

Source: Jordan News Agency

India on Sunday announced that it has positioned two Indian Air Force aircraft on standby in Saudi Arabia and Indian Naval Ship Sumedha reached Port Sudan to evacuate stranded Indians in Sudan.

The Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement that government of India is making all out efforts to ensure safety and security of Indians stranded in Sudan.

“As part of our preparations, and in order to move swiftly, the government of India is pursuing multiple options. Two Indian Air Force C-130J are currently positioned on standby in Jeddah. And, Indian Naval Ship Sumedha has reached Port Sudan,” the statement said. The Indian authorities are in closely monitoring the complex and evolving security situation in Sudan and coordinating efforts for the safe movement of stranded Indians with various partners.

“Apart from the Sudanese authorities, the Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian Embassy in Sudan are also in regular touch with the UN, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, and US among others,” the Indian ministry said. It further stated that security situation is volatile as fierce fighting is reported at various locations in Khartoum. “Sudanese airspace currently remains closed for all foreign aircraft. Overland movement also has risks and logistical challenges,” it said. The ministry asked its citizens stranded in Sudan to avoid unnecessary risk and advised them on the viability of safe movement. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday had asked concerned Indian authorities to prepare contingency evacuation plans to bring back around 3000 stranded Indians from Sudan.

Source: Kuwait News Agency

European Union High Representative Josep Borrell Sunday said he spoke by phone both with Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the leader of the Sudanese Armed Forces, and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, head of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, and urged them for an immediate ceasefire.

“Also insisted on the need to protect civilians and to guarantee safe evacuation of EU citizens,” said Borrell in his twitter message.

In a separate tweet, the EU foreign policy chief said he is relieved that EU nationals are being safely evacuated from Sudan.

He thanked France for making this possible, with Djibouti’s help, and noted that the EU Ambassador continues work from Sudan.

“We remain committed to silencing the guns and helping all civilians who stayed behind,” he added.

Source: Kuwait News Agency

The General Authority for Survey and Geospatial Information, on behalf of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, participated in the inaugural meeting of the United Nations Global Geospatial Knowledge and Innovation Centre’s International Advisory Committee (UN-GGKIC IAC ) from April 20 to 22 in Deqing, China.

Dr. Mohammed bin Yahya Al Sayel, President of the General Authority for Survey and Geospatial Information, represented the Kingdom at the meeting, which focused on various agenda items and reviewed the experiences of member states.

During the meeting, the Kingdom presented the experience of the General Authority for Survey and Geospatial Information in harmonizing the National Geospatial Strategy, which is currently under development by the Authority, with the Integrated Geospatial Information Framework (IGIF).

The Kingdom also emphasized the importance of the nine strategic pathways outlined in the IGIF, which cover Governance and Institutions, Legal and Policy, Financial, Data, Standards, Innovation, Partnerships, Capacity and Education, and Communication and Engagement, providing guidance for addressing challenges in the survey and geospatial information sector.

In April, Dr. Al Sayel was granted royal approval to serve as a member of the UN-GGKIC IAC.

Source: Saudi Press Agency