AMMAN: The Jordanian Businessmen Association (JBA) and a visiting delegation of Jordanian-Australian businessmen have discussed prospects of forging closer investment cooperation and expanding trade relations between both countries’ private sectors.
Addressing the delegation on Saturday, JBA President Hamdi Tabbaa said that Jordan looks forward to attracting more foreign investment, especially from Australia, through cementing relations between the private sectors in both countries, reported Jordan’s News Agency.
Economic relations with Australia saw “remarkable development” in recent years, said Tabbaa, adding: “We aspire to see them further prosper in a manner that reflects on the volume of trade exchange and investment.”
He outlined key investment opportunities in mega projects and the need to promote ventures, noting strong bilateral relations, particularly in tourism, health care and education.
JBA’s head called on Australian businesspeople to visit Jordan and see firsthand productivity and service projects in the industrial estates and development areas, as well as the possibility for investors to benefit from the Australian Investment Environment Law of 2022 and the advantages and incentives it offers.
Shawkat Maslamani, who headed the Australian team, hoped that the visit would help consolidate his country’s relations with Jordan and the Middle East, and the provision of aid in various fields, including education and health and the transfer of knowledge in various industries, namely Australia’s expertise in vocational education.
The two sides called for eliminating barriers to cooperation, launching joint ventures in promising sectors and benefiting from economic advantages and incentives offered by both countries.
Jordanian, Australian business groups discuss building investment ties
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Jordanian, Australian business groups discuss building investment ties
- Amman’s economic relations with Australia saw ‘remarkable development’ in recent years, says Jordanian Businessmen Association president
Red Sea marine traffic up 60 percent after Houthis narrowed targets, EU commander says
Gryparis said he could not guarantee that merchant ships won’t be attacked
MADRID: Red Sea marine traffic has increased by 60 percent to 36-37 ships a day since August 2024, but is still short of volumes seen before Yemen’s Houthis began attacking ships in the region, according to the commander of the EU’s Aspides naval mission.
The number of merchant ships using the narrow Bab Al-Mandab strait increased after missile and drone attacks by the Houthis slowed and the US and the rebel group signed a ceasefire deal, Rear Admiral Vasileios Gryparis said in an interview in Madrid.
But shipping traffic, which reached a low of 20-23 ships daily in August last year, is still short of an average of 72-75 ships a day seen before the Houthis began attacks in the Red Sea in November in 2023 in support of Palestinians over Israel’s war in Gaza, said Gryparis.
The mission, which was established to safeguard navigation in the strategic trade route linking the Mediterranean with the Gulf of Asia through the Suez Canal, was extended in February when it was also tasked with tracking illegal arms shipments and monitoring vessels carrying sanctioned Russian oil.
The last attack on a merchant ship took place in November 2024 and the Houthis have also narrowed their objectives, saying their targets are Israeli ships and ships that have a connection with Israel or have docked at an Israeli port, Gryparis said.
“If you have a vessel that does not correspond to this criteria... there is a huge possibility — more than 99 percent — that you’re not going to be targeted by the Houthis,” Gryparis said.
Still, Gryparis said he could not guarantee that merchant ships won’t be attacked.
Some companies have been deterred from using the route because of the mission’s lack of ships, which can cause delays of as much as a week for those seeking to be escorted through the area, he said.
He said the mission has between two and three ships operating at one time and has requested the EU provide it with 10 ships to increase its capacity for protection.
The mission has provided close protection to 476 ships, shot down 18 drones, destroyed two remote-controlled boats used to attack ships and intercepted four ballistic missiles, he said.
How many hostages are left in Gaza?
- Hostages still in captivity: 56, of whom Israel believes 33 are dead
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israel has recovered the bodies of two hostages held in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli American Gad Haggai and Judih Weinstein — who was Israeli, American and Canadian — were killed during Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack into southern Israel that ignited the war in Gaza. Their remains were returned to
Israel in a special operation by the army and the Shin Bet internal security agency, Netanyahu said.
Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 hostages in the Oct. 7 attack. More than 54,000 Palestinians in Gaza, mostly women and children, have been killed in the ensuing conflict, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza. The ministry doesn’t distinguish between civilians and combatants.
Here are details on the hostages:
Total hostages captured on Oct. 7, 2023: 251
Hostages taken before the Oct. 7 attack: 4, including 2 who entered Gaza in 2014 and 2015 and the bodies of 2 soldiers killed in the 2014 war
Hostages released in exchanges or other deals: 148, of whom 8 were dead
Bodies of hostages retrieved by Israeli forces: 43
Hostages rescued alive: 8
Hostages still in captivity: 56, of whom Israel believes 33 are dead. Netanyahu has said there are “doubts” about the fate of several more.
The hostages in captivity include: 5 non-Israelis ( 3 Thais, 1 Nepalese, 1 Tanzanian), of whom 3 (2 Thais and 1 Tanzanian) have been confirmed dead.
Egypt, Greece agree to protect status of Mount Sinai monastery, after court ruling
- Egypt and Greece intend to move forward based on the long-standing tradition and the already established status of an emblematic monastery for its Greek Orthodox character of worship
ATHENS: Greece and Egypt have agreed to safeguard the status of one of the world’s oldest sites of Christian worship, foreign ministers of both countries said late on Wednesday, after an Egyptian court ruling last week cast uncertainty over its future.
The St. Catherine’s Monastery, at the foot of Egypt’s Mount Sinai, was founded in the 6th century and is the oldest Christian monastery still in use for its original function, says UNESCO, which has listed the area as a World Heritage site.
Revered by Christians, Muslims and Jews, the monastery is at the site where by Biblical tradition Moses received the Ten Commandments.
But last week, an Egyptian court ruling seen by Reuters ordered Orthodox monks to vacate several plots of land that the monks have used for years, including vineyards and gardens adjacent to the monastery compound, on the grounds that they were illegally sequestered, prompting a diplomatic flurry between Cairo and Athens over the site’s status.
“We agreed in the immediate future to work toward safeguarding the rights of the monastery, as well as its legal status,” Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis said after meeting his Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelatty in Cairo.
“Both Egypt and Greece intend to move forward based on the long-standing tradition and the already established status of an emblematic monastery for its Greek Orthodox character of worship.”
Abdelatty said that the ruling preserves the monastery’s profound spiritual value and religious standing, and confirmed that the monks would continue to have access to and use of the monastery and its religious and historical sites, according to a foreign ministry statement. With a long history of diplomatic ties, Greece and Egypt have deepened cooperation in recent years.
St. Catherine’s is a sprawling complex, and according to tradition it was built around a burning bush where God was said to have spoken to Moses as described in the Book of Exodus. Its library is one of the most extensive worldwide, containing some of the world’s earliest Christian manuscripts.
Israel PM says bodies of two hostages retrieved from Gaza
- The bodies were of Judy Weinstein-Haggai and Gad Haggai from Kibbutz Nir Oz
JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday the bodies of two Israelis killed in Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack and held in Gaza had been returned to Israel.
“In a special operation by the (security agency) and the (military) in the Gaza Strip, the bodies of two of our hostages held by the murderous terrorist organization Hamas were returned to Israel: Judy Weinstein-Haggai and Gad
Haggai from Kibbutz Nir Oz, may their memory be blessed,” Netanyahu said in a statement. “Judy and Gad were murdered on October 7 and abducted to the Gaza Strip,” he added.
UAE, Egypt leaders renew call for Gaza ceasefire
- The two leaders stressed “the importance of intensifying efforts to achieve a ceasefire” in Gaza
DUBAI: UAE’s Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan and Egypt’s Abdel Fattah El-Sisi on Wednesday reiterated the call for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip during their meeting in Abu Dhabi.
During the two leaders’ talks at Qasr Al-Shati in Abu Dhabi, they stressed “the importance of intensifying efforts to achieve a ceasefire” in Gaza and working “towards a clear political horizon for a just and comprehensive peace based on the two-state solution.”
The US earlier vetoed a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate truce in the besieged enclave, the release of all hostages held by Hamas, and unhampered delivery of humanitarian supplies territory’s starving population.
Sheikh Mohamed and Sisi, during their high-level talks, also discussed ways to further strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries “particularly those that advance their shared development goals and serve the mutual interests of their peoples.”
They also reviewed regional and international issues as well as recent developments particularly aimed at restoring security and stability in the Middle East region.
