The Embassy is Closing

No ambassador wishes to be the person closing down an Embassy. Everyone would like to be the one opening an Embassy. I got both – and on the same posting. So it is official – we will be closing on September 1st. I feel very sorry for my staff that has been working so hard on getting the embassy up and running - quite successfully I think. They are of course highly qualified, so I think they will manage very well in the future – also without their Embassy.

Anyway, this is not a “goodbye” post, solely a sad public announcement to the followers and occasional guests of the blog. We’ll stay in touch.

Thomas

Danish government to close Amman embassy

By Mohammad Ghazal, Jordan Times

AMMAN – The Danish government has decided to close its embassies in Jordan, Algeria, Bosnia and Nicaragua due to budgetary cuts, according to the top Danish diplomat in the Kingdom.

The Amman embassy will shut its doors on September 1, Danish Ambassador to Jordan Thomas Fouad Lund-Sorensen said on Thursday.

“The decision [to close the Amman embassy] is final and regrettable. I am sad that I have to leave Jordan on this note,” the ambassador told The Jordan Times over the phone yesterday.

Official diplomatic ties between Jordan and Denmark were established in 1958, and the Danish embassy in Amman was opened in 2007, according to the Danish ambassador.

The Danish presence in Jordan goes as far back as the 1920s when Danish archaeologists worked alongside their Jordanian colleagues at Mount Nebo.

Jordan does not have an embassy in Denmark, but is represented by a consulate, according to the diplomat, who added that Jordan’s embassy in Berlin handles the Kingdom’s affairs in Denmark.

The ambassador said the closure will affect Jordanian-Danish relations, but stressed that the Danish government is keen on limiting the impact as much as possible.

“Denmark is committed to deepening its relations with Jordan and the closure of the embassy does not mean that the partnership programme that started in 2005 will be abandoned,” he said.

Regarding Danish representation in Jordan after the embassy closure, Lund-Sorensen said “it is too early to tell… as no decision has been taken yet”.

In November 2008, a project fully funded by the Danish government was launched to strengthen the professional capacity of law enforcement institutions to prevent torture and ill-treatment and respond appropriately and effectively when such acts occur.

The two-year project, dubbed “Karama”, seeks to ensure that torture and ill-treatment are documented, prosecuted and redressed in accordance with international legal standards.

Denmark has also assisted Jordan in drawing up the law on the Ombudsman Bureau, an independent organisation established in April 2008, to review complaints lodged against any official decision or procedure.

16 April 2010

And in Ammonnews (many interesting comments – best read in arabic))

Hey Ministers!

It is not everyday that you get the full attention of three jordanian ministers (Energy, Mega-Projects, Environment)  at the same time. But during todays event on renewable energy – wind in particular – I got the chance to speak in front of them. My main message was that Jordan is standing on the threshold of an adventure into clean, competitive and reliable energy from homeblown ressources. So far the government has taken some very necessary steps to make this adventure happen – but there is still a little bit to do to make it perfect. So let’s not waste any time in getting everything right. My remarks are reprinted below:

Dear friends, I give me great pleasure to welcoming you to this wind power event by Vestas. As some of you have heard the Vestas company is a real life business fairytale. The company have grown from a small local blacksmith into the most traded shareholding company on the Danish stock exchange with a market capitalization in excess of 9 billion Euros. Vestas has grown this way by becoming the leading world provider of wind energy – or in other words – by providing clean energy to the World. Clean energy is no longer a dream – it is large scale business.

When I arrived in Jordan in September 2007 to take up my posting Jordan was finalizing a crucial document for its future. It was the new strategy that would set the development of the energy sector for the next 10 years to come. The challenge of the strategy was to satisfy the growing energy need of Jordan – estimated at a rather conservative 7% per year.  One of the ways to meet this increased demand was to set a very ambitious target for renewable energy of 10% of the energy mix in 2020. In other words – every year from today until 2020 Jordan needs to put more than 300 MW of electricity online and of this, renewable energy would have to supply more than 1000 MW – most of it online before 2015. This is a serious challenge.

So far this challenge has not been met. We are at less than 1% of renewable energy in Jordan. But there is hope. Recently, the Jordanian government adopted the new law on renewable energy. This law – if implemented rapidly and according to its provisions – will make the market for renewable energy in Jordan much more attractive to investors and producers – and at the same time help fulfil some of the strategic goals in the energy strategy – cleaner energy and less dependence on imported energy. I personally believe that our friend the minister of energy H.E. Khaled Irani deserves a lot of credit for getting the law adopted.

But even if credit is due – more can be done from the government side. Let me just suggest something like a feed-in tariff. Experience shows, that a reasonable feed-in tariff can be a driver in getting renewable energy to take off. Another element of potential importance is the designation of new windy areas for wind power production, including wind measurement and in particular clarification of land ownership rights. With these issues resolved, the Government will have created a level playing field for investors so that the private sector can contribute to the fulfilment of the energy strategy and its strategic political goals.

Jordan might not have the same kind of wind as we in northern Europe are blessed with. But there are quite a number of quality spots to install wind turbines. Wind turbines of todays high technology does not need much wind to be efficient. Looking at the energy consumption in Jordan that goes to sectors where wind would be a perfect energy provider, I will just mention that 20% of electricity consumption goes to pumping water. With the Disi project implemented I guess this consumption will increase further. Wind and water is a perfect match for Jordan.

Another phenomenon I have witnessed during my three years in Jordan is the increased awareness among public institutions and NGO’s about renewable energy. Just the other day, the Jordanian renewable energy society signed a MoU about using clean energy to power the streetlights in Jordan. Energy efficiency – which is a very low hanging fruit in Jordan – is also and rightly so getting much more attention today from public institutions and NGO’s than just two years ago.

Probably more importantly – the last year or so have seen a steady growth in the number of business people and investors involving themselves in the green energy sector. Just look at the turnout of today’s meeting. You can “go green” for idealistic reasons, but it is probably not until the private sector gets involved that a country will move forward in this respect. To me it seems that green energy in Jordan at this moment is at the threshold of taking off.

The Vestas seminar today will hopefully accelerate this movement, so Jordan soon will start to produce “modern energy” to use the Vestas slogan. I wish you all a fruitful and productive seminar.

Al Ghad article here. Petra News Agency report (Arabic) here and here and in English here. Jordan Times article here. Al Rai article here. Ad Dustour article here.

Protecting the Family

Opening remarks, Regional Conference on Family Protection 12th and 13th of April 2010. Held by Public Security Directorate and Family Protection Department of the Jordanian Police with support from the Danish-Arab Partnership Programme

A heartfelt welcome to all of you to this international conference on “Family Protection”, organized by the Public Security Directorate of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan with support from the Danish-Arab Partnership Programme. I wish to thank the Public Security Directorate and the Family Protection Department for their continued cooperation and for hosting this important conference.

It is with pleasure that I as representative of the Danish Government take part in the opening of this 2-day conference bringing together professionals from many countries in the region. Working together with dedication and high professionalism, to protect children and families from abuse and violence is a common cause. This event is an opportunity to learn from the initiatives taken in each of your respective countries as well as from Jordan in the field of family protection. Thank you for your dedication to share and to be inspired by one another.

Over the years Jordan has made pioneering efforts in establishing mechanisms and cross sector cooperation to address the issue of family protection. The ground breaking Jordanian model rests on close cooperation between the efforts of police and the efforts of other professionals such as forensic doctors, social workers and civil society. Close cooperation not only between different sectors but also across countries contribute to the understanding of this complex, sensitive and tragic phenomenon of domestic violence.

More significantly, the Family Protection Department  who is spearheading the Jordanian efforts, is actively working to continuously improve and professionalise their working methods, expand their collaboration to NGO’s and advance their credibility and trust in the Jordanian population. This willingness to constantly improve is something we all could learn from.

— o0o —

Violence in the family – including sexual abuse of children and women – is a global problem. As parents, as family members, as citizens and professionals – it must be our priority to do what we can to protect our children and our families from violence and abuse.

Children’s rights and family protection are complex and sensitive issues in most societies. Quite often decision makers are reluctant to take the necessary measures to fully protect children and women. In many instances the family is considered a sacred entity and interference in family affairs is a cultural taboo.

In Jordan, however, the prevention of domestic violence is a concern which receives support from the highest level. His Majesty King Abdullah II has stated that violence against women and children is a red line; it is not to be crossed. To quote His Majesty from a statement he made less than 3 weeks ago “We should continue to consolidate the legislative and cultural environment that guarantees the protection of women and children’s rights, and end any violation of those rights”

This conference being held under the patronage of Her Majesty Queen Rania reinforces this commitment.

— o0o —

On the Danish side we are particular proud to work together in partnership in this important endeavor.  The cooperation between the Family Protection Department and Save the Children Denmark is part of a cooperation involving more than 120 Danish civil society organizations and public institutions, working under the umbrella of the Danish-Arab Partnership program supported by the Danish Government.  The Partnership Program is a major policy initiative launched by the Danish Government in 2003. The philosophy behind is to enhance understanding, collaboration and partnership with countries and institutions in the Middle East and North Africa. A guiding principle for the entire program is that cooperation shall be based on common values.

I hope in the years to come, that the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and its citizens as well as the countries and its citizens of all of us present here today, will harvest the fruits of the efforts we together are investing in this cooperation on fighting domestic violence. This conference presents an opportunity for all participants to present their perspectives, exchange ideas and develop a new vision for the future of cross sectional partnerships benefiting women and children in the region.

I wish you a successful and beneficial conference and all the best in the continued efforts to establish appropriate and efficient mechanisms in the fight against family violence. Protecting the Family is one of our common values.

Petra report

No more detention of Journalists

The new Rifai-government is moving rapidly on many reform issues – focusing mostly on the difficult economic situation that Jordan is facing. On the political reform side the litmus test will be on the new election law and its implementation at the next general election to be held at the end of the year.

But yesterday another small but hopefully important step was taken. The Government adopted (as a temporary law I guess) a new amended Press and Publications Law that puts legal substance to the pledge of no journalist shall be jailed for expressing his or her opinion. The tricky question is of course whether this law will overrule the other laws including the Penal Code that sometimes are used to arrest or detain people for expressing their opinion. Judging from the statements from yesterday it seems so. 

While this step will help enhancing the image of Jordan abroad I certainly hope that the purpose of the amendment to the law was to increase the level of freedom of expression inside Jordan. (I think that statement got a little twist by Jordan Times – have to watch out for those jounalists )

Jordan signs the Copenhagen Accord

I think it is news – not because it is fresh – but because no other to my knowledge has reported on it. Jordan joined as the first of so far only two Arab countries the Copenhagen Accord on 31^st of January. Jordan signed on to the result of the COP15 and submitted its mitigation plan for combating Climate change. The result of COP15 might not have been what we all hoped for, but it was a first step and it seems that it is gaining momentum as the basis for the next Climate agreement.

On the same note Jordan is taking the lead in the region on discussing climate change and energy efficiency. Within the last ten days two well prepared and well attended energy conferences (RCREEE, JRES) have taken place in Jordan. Please note the highly interesting country report on Jordan. It is my feeling that with the new law on Renewable Energy both government and in particular private entrepreneurs and investors are beginning to take these issues seriously – and for good reasons – it is a national challenge and there is money and jobs to be made.