Day: July 9, 2023

Director of Public Security Directorate (PSD), Maj. Gen. Obaidullah Maaytah, on Sunday, met with Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office ( FCDO ), Philip Barton, in the presence of the British Ambassador to Amman, Bridget Brind. During the meeting, held at Princess Basma Women Police Training Institute, the two sides discussed ways to strengthen joint cooperation in the security and police fields, and exchange expertise, especially with regard to training women personnel on police work. Maaytah said women started to join the police and security field in 1972, during which Jordanian women proved their “distinction and capability to perform and adapt to the work environment, and gained wide respect, which was reflected in their performance level”. Maaytah also stressed the PSD’s keenness to consolidate “strategic” partnerships with various relevant international bodies, aimed to enriching security and police experiences, especially in the training and technical aspects. For his part, Barton lauded success of Jordan’s experience in integrating women in the security fields, and their “clear” excellence in this regard, especially in the police and civil defense operations, stressing importance of joint cooperation and coordination to serve police and security process. The delegation was briefed by commander of the women police force, highlighting their development and tasks in various public security units. Touring the institute’s facilities, the UK delegation watched a film about establishment of the women’s police force and its duties under PSD and its participation in international peacekeeping missions.

Source: Jordan News Agency

The Jordan Chamber of Commerce has launched a new business incubator aimed at fostering ties with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and bolstering the entrepreneurial landscape. The incubator’s mission encompasses improving regulatory frameworks, facilitating commercial technology transfer, and assisting SMEs in identifying local innovation necessities. This is achieved by creating a one-stop innovation hub, hosting events to stimulate technological collaboration among SMEs, and conducting regular assessments of project structures and initiatives to ensure information, communication, and operational sustainability. This initiative is part of the broader “Water and Energy” project, which falls under the multilateral regional program for cross-border cooperation among Mediterranean countries, funded by the European Union. According to a statement released by the Chamber on Sunday, the organization is steadfast in its commitment to alternative and sustainable energy. Hence, it has partnered with various parties from Greece, Egypt, Lebanon, Spain, and Italy as part of this initiative. Under the terms of this agreement, the Aqaba Chamber of Commerce building has been chosen to host a project that generates cooling energy. The method leverages chillers to cool water and, subsequently, decrease the temperature of the chillers pumping cold air. Given the high periods of solar brightness and the availability of necessary infrastructure, this project is expected to partially substitute electrical energy sources, thus reducing the overall cost. As part of the program, the chamber, in collaboration with numerous partners, has conducted a local market survey to evaluate resource efficiency services in the sustainable energy sector. A training program has also been initiated to equip trainers in the sector with the knowledge of technologies utilized in the cooling energy production project. The Chamber underscores the significance of renewable energy as a global trend and a platform for international cooperation and experience sharing. It also emphasizes the crucial role of continuous economic stimulation and operating cost reduction in the commercial sector to affect service prices favorably for citizens. The Chamber reiterates the importance of commercial sector companies and institutions embracing renewable and sustainable energy sources to curb operating costs and consider renewable energy projects as viable alternatives to traditional energy sources. Furthermore, the Chamber has signed several agreements to implement and oversee the solar energy cooling system installation project in collaboration with the Royal Scientific Society through the National Center for Energy Research. The inauguration ceremony was attended by distinguished individuals, including Jamal Rifai, First Vice-President of the Jordan Chamber of Commerce; Firas Sultan, Second Vice-President; Hatem Zoubi, Representative of the Electricity and Electronics Sector in the chamber; and Muhammad Dudu, President of the Association of Energy Companies. In attendance were also Ismat Karadsheh, Coordinator of the Regional Office for Eastern Mediterranean Countries of the Cross-Border Cooperation Program, and Ali Tarawneh, the implementing engineer of the project from the Next Renewable Energy Company.

Source: Jordan News Agency

DUBAI, 9th July, 2023 (WAM) — Mattar Al Tayer, Director-General and Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), revealed that in 2022 compared with 2021, the number of transactions, users and revenue streams through RTA’s digital channels reflected phenomenal growth. “In 2022 RTA recorded 814 million digital transactions up from 676 million in 2021, reflecting a robust growth rate of 20 percent. In addition, revenues in 2022 totalled AED 3.5 billion, an increase of 10 percent from the preceding year. The number of registered users increased by 30 percent to 1.3 million users, while, the number of in-app transactions increased by 197 percent to 3.7 million transactions,” Al Tayer explained. “RTA is moving ahead with the digitisation projects guided by the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, to foster wellbeing of Dubai, increase its global competitiveness, provide multiple options for residents in order for Dubai to become the best city for living in the world. These initiatives also complement the directives of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council, to transform Dubai into the smartest city in the world and further the emirate’s digitisation drive.” “RTA is working tirelessly to realise the vision of our wise leaders to transform Dubai into a smart city that uses cutting-edge technologies to deliver top-notch services to rank Dubai as the smartest city in roads and transportation worldwide. These initiatives are aligned with RTA’s vision ‘The World Leader in Seamless and Sustainable Mobility’ and reflect a commitment to providing safe and smooth mobility driven by advanced networks as well as innovative and sustainable roads and transport services.” “The adoption of agility management techniques in digitisation projects, contributed to achieving these positive results. It is attributed to departmental communication, swift adaptation to technology trends, and a host of aspiring targets set. The S’hail app was used to plan over 20 million public transport journeys representing a 174 percent rise compared to 2021. In addition, when comparing last two years the number of app users increased by 73 percent,” explained Al Tayer. RTA offers digital services highlighted by the launch of smart apps and new services and features through a variety of channels in 2022. A notable example is the Vehicle Purchase and Sale service, which enables customers to conduct purchases or sales without being physically present. The service received the ‘UAE Innovates’ Award in the category of Automating Government Transactions. Several enhancements to parking services have also been introduced, including the option to pay parking fees using Apple Pay, which has seen over 2.2 million transactions since its introduction. For increased customer transparency improvements included notifying customers of free parking days during holidays. Additionally, RTA launched a feature that allows users to instantly access their vehicle registration cards for virtual displays upon request by adding vehicle registration information to the “Apple Pass” wallet. RTA made its first venture into using artificial intelligence technologies with the launch of Mahboub Chatbot in 2018. It serves as one of the primary platforms for delivering RTA’s services across multiple digital channels, including smart apps, RTA’s website, and WhatsApp. It provides customers with 364 services and features. In 2022, Mahboub carried out over two million conversations, with the most popular being the payment of parking fees via WhatsApp, saving customers the costs of a text message. Additionally, the platform offers services like renewing driver’s licenses and vehicle registration enabling direct delivery request of new registration cards to customers.

Source: Emirates News Agency (WAM)