Day: June 10, 2023

National Employment Programme helped 22,529 people find jobs, under agreements signed with Jordan’s private sector establishments, which totaled 1,003. According to statistics recently obtained by “Petra,” the number of beneficiaries of National Aid Fund (NAF) cash assistance reached 754 women and 927 men. The highest employment rates went to Jordan’s industrial sector, followed by the education and tourism sectors, respectively, then the mining industry, the statistics showed. A total of 58,810 job seekers registered in the programme, of whom 28,574 are females and 30,236 are males. Under the programme, a man or woman employed by a private sector establishment will receive JD130 as monthly wage subsidy provided that the employer offers the employee a one-year contract. The programme, which is a priority of the government’s economic action plans 2021-2023, comes in line with its directives to empower Jordanian youth in the age group between 18-40 years. The programme also aims to stimulate Jordan’s private sector to provide job opportunities to employ jobless Jordanians in all economic sectors in all the Kingdom’s governorates.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Jordan Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Khaled Touqan said Saturday the Kingdom is interested in expanding cooperation with Iraq and all Arab countries in the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and is willing to offer technical support and training and exchange expertise in this field. Touqan said during a recent meeting with an Iraqi delegation led by Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research and Head of the Iraqi Atomic Energy Commission Naeem Al-Aboudi that Jordan is keen on cementing ties with Iraq, particularly in scientific and technological fields and the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. The Jordanian nuclear reactor, he pointed out, is a landmark national scientific achievement, thanks to Jordanian expertise and competencies that endeavored to reach an advanced level in the national nuclear program for peaceful purposes and keep pace with global scientific developments in this domain. Toukan pointed to the various components of the Jordanian nuclear energy program, including the nuclear power plant, the nuclear reactor for research and training, the uranium exploration and mining project and the development of human resources, as well as the work of the Synchrotron-light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East (SESAME). For his part, Al-Aboudi commended the model progress Jordan made in the nuclear field, adding that Iraq continued to enhance cooperation and share Jordan’s scientific expertise. Toukan accompanied the Iraqi minister and his delegation on a visit to the Jordan University of Science and Technology, where they were briefed on future projects and aspiration to make the university a scientific center at the Arab and international levels.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Jordan and Egypt Saturday signed a cooperation agreement under which Egypt will use the Aqaba Floating Storage Regasification Unit (FSRU) during the remaining period of the floating vessel’s charter contract. Director General of the National Electricity Company (NEPCO) Amjad Rawashdeh and Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS) Chairmn Magdy Galal signed the agreement during a ceremony attended by Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Saleh Kharabsheh and Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Tarek El-Mulla. Kharabsheh said the main objective of the agreement is to benefit from the resources of the two countries with higher efficiency at a lower cost, stressing that the use of the floating vessel in Aqaba will run until the end of its charter contract in late 2025, after which the coastal gasification unit the ministry is currently implementing will be used. He said the energy ministry is in the process of issuing bids for the gasification unit and that a perspective on how far the designs meet the needs of the two countries will be in place in the next two months, adding that the Jordanian government will launch the national program to supply natural gas to factories as well as homes in Amman and Zarqa, urging Egyptian firms to invest in it. For his part, the Egyptian minister said his country has the expertise in domestic gas applications and will help to maximize Jordan’s benefit in this field, stressing the importance of Jordanian-Egyptian cooperation in implementing a number of energy projects. He noted that Egypt has multiple energy efficiency and carbon emissions and global warming reduction ventures, adding that natural gas is a top priority in industrial projects.

Source: Jordan News Agency

Minister of Commerce of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Dr. Majid bin Abdullah Al Qasabi held a number of meetings with British ministers and leaders of major companies, aiming at boosting trade and economic partnership between the two countries.

The meetings were attended by Saudi Ambassador to the United Kingdom Prince Khalid bin Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz and Deputy Minister of Commerce and CEO of the National Competitiveness Center .Dr. Iman bint Habbas Al-Mutairi.

During his visit, Al Qasabi met with the following UK officials: Minister of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Grant Shapps; Minister of Trade and Business Kimi Badinosh, Minister of Investment Dominic Johnson, Minister of State for Middle East and North African Affairs Tariq Mahmoud Ahmed, and Minister of State at the Department of Education Nick Gibb.

Al Qasabi also held meetings with Undersecretary of Department of Science, Innovation and Technology Viscount Camrose, Advisor to the British Prime Minister for Business and Investment Frank Petitgas, Prime Minister’s Special Representative for Education, Sir Steve Smith, and CEO of the British Accreditation Authority Matt Gantley.

The meetings tackled the strategies and programs of the Saudi Vision 2030 aimed at expanding business opportunities and investments between the two countries, as well as encouraging British companies to expand their businesses in Saudi Arabia, and encouraging and financing emerging companies to enter promising fields of research and innovation; the British experience in developing entrepreneurship was also reviewed.

Al Qasabi also held meetings with leaders of the British business sector, most notably with CEO of Rolls-Royce Tufan Erginbilgic, and participated in a dialogue session with members of the Asian House, a think-tank concerned with promoting trade between Asia, the Middle East and Europe.

The Saudi delegation had a scheduled visit to Dulwich College where it was briefed on the British practices and experience in the field of education.

The minister’s visit to UK coincided with the third meeting of the Economic and Social Committee of the Saudi-British Strategic Partnership Council, which convened in London.

Composed of 45 officials from 22 government, non-profit and private agencies, the Saudi delegation participated in the “Saudi-British Business Partnership Forum”, organized by the National Competitiveness Center, the Joint Saudi-British Business Council, and the Federation of Saudi Chambers.

Among the participating entities were the Central Bank of Saudi Arabia, the Public Investment Fund, Mohammed bin Salman “Misk” Foundation, Roshan Real Estate Group, the Federation of Saudi Chambers and the Joint Saudi-British Business Council.

Source: Saudi Press Agency

CAIRO, 10th June, 2023 (WAM) The Federal National Council’s Parliamentary Division today participated in the 5th session of the Arab Parliament, which was held in the Arab League’s headquarters in Cairo. The delegation included Mohammed Ahmed Al Yamahi, Head of the FNC Parliamentary Division and Member of the Foreign Affairs, Political and National Security Committee; Naama Abdullah Al-Sharhan, Second Vice President of the Council and Member of the Social, Educational, Cultural, Women and Youth Affairs Committee; Ahmed Bushehab, Member of the Economic and Financial Affairs Committee, and Shatha Saeed Al Naqbi, Vice President of the Legislative, Legal and Human Rights Affairs Committee of the Arab Parliament. Al Yamahi said that the session of the Arab Parliament approved today, under the chairmanship of the Arab Parliament Speaker Adel Al-Assoumi, the draft resolutions submitted by the committees of the Arab Parliament, and discussed the latest political developments in the Arab countries, particularly in Sudan. In turn, Al-Sharhan emphasised the importance of the session of the Arab Parliament, which resulted in many important decisions related to Arab political, social, economic and legal issues. She also expressed her aspiration to execute these recommendations on the ground in a way that achieves stability for the Arab countries, and accomplishes the aspirations of the Arab people to live in security and stability. Hazem Hussein

Source: Emirates News Agency (WAM)