AMMAN // Saudi Arabia is to set up a $3 billion (Dh11bn) joint investment fund for Jordan, state media said on Tuesday as King Salman signed 15 cooperation agreements during a visit to Amman.
Other agreements include measures to boost power generation, tackle worsening water shortages, and improve housing and health services, Jordan’s official Petra news agency said.
It said the accords covered uranium mining and water desalination projects, and that a memorandum was signed to build a $70 million solar power station on Jordan’s eastern border.
The agreements, worth a total of $3.5bn, were signed on Monday evening after King Salman’s arrival for an Arab summit later this week, Petra added.
With desert covering 92 per cent of its territory, the kingdom is one of the world’s 10 driest countries and wants to use atomic energy to fire desalination plants to overcome its crippling water shortage.
Jordan is thought to have significant uranium reserves and has struck deals over the years with foreign firms to mine for uranium in its central region. It is also considering building a nuclear power plant.
However, one joint venture between Jordan Energy Resources and the French company Areva was terminated in 2012, months after they said the overall uranium potential on a licensed area exceeded 20,000 tonnes.
The Jordan Atomic Energy Commission said in 2012 that a leading Australian company had discovered uranium resources in central Jordan that were more than double that amount.
In 2014, the Jordan Times newspaper quoted the head of state-owned Jordan Uranium Mining, Samer Kahook, as saying that central Jordan has reserves of 36,389 tonnes of uranium oxide.
Saudi Arabia is one of Jordan’s main financial supporters.
The Jordanian economy has been badly hit by the influx of hundreds of thousands of refugees from the conflict in neighbouring Syria, which have put a huge strain on already stretched resources.
Arab foreign ministers were wrapping up two days of talks in the Jordanian Dead Sea resort of Sweimeh on Tuesday ahead of Wednesday’s summit.
* Agence France-Presse
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The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
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More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
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ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA
Starring: Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi
Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser
Rating: 4.5/5
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
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Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
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Sector: Water technology
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A meeting of young minds
The 3,494 entries for the 2019 Sharjah Children Biennial come from:
435 – UAE
2,000 – China
808 – United Kingdom
165 – Argentina
38 – Lebanon
16 – Saudi Arabia
16 – Bangladesh
6 – Ireland
3 – Egypt
3 – France
2 – Sudan
1 – Kuwait
1 – Australia
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2pm: Al Sahel Contracting Company – Maiden (PA) Dh50,000 (Dirt) 1,200m; Winner: AF Mutakafel, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)
2.30pm: Dubai Real Estate Centre – Maiden (TB) Dh60,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: El Baareq, Antonio Fresu, Rashed Bouresly
3pm: Shadwell – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh100,000 (D) 1,950m; Winner: Lost Eden, Andrea Atzeni, Doug Watson
3.30pm: Keeneland – Handicap (TB) Dh84,000 (D) 1,000m; Winner: Alkaraama, Dane O’Neill, Musabah Al Muhairi
4pm: Keeneland – Handicap (TB) Dh76,000 (D) 1,800m; Winner: Lady Snazz, Saif Al Balushi, Bhupat Seemar
4.30pm: Hive – Conditions (TB) Dh100,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Down On Da Bayou, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer
5pm: Dubai Real Estate Centre – (TB) Handicap Dh64,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Lahmoom, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer
England World Cup squad
Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler (wkt), Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Vince, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
