Emirati ambassador confirms in an interview with the Al-Anbat that his country is trying to return the favor to the kingdom

Al Shamsi: I kiss the forehead of every military and security man that looked after Jordan's Pure Land

 

• The number of our students in Jordan is low and the Emirati tourists are growing

• UAE, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait abide by the commitments of the Mecca Agreement

• Emirati support to create a factory for packing dates and nurseries to increase production

•Why does the Gulf investor go to other countries instead of Jordan despite the existence of the infrastructure in all services

• There is a tendency to transfer Emirati patients who traveled for treatment in Europe to Jordan

• Expect to increase our investments in Jordan for more than 16 billion next year and are ready to bring more if the procedures are facilitated

• Initiative to train a million Jordanian programmers through the initiative of the UAE Council of Ministers

Qatar's losses from the boycott amounted to 500 billion dollars  Qatar has played a role in destabilizing the security and stability of Bahrain and eastern Saudi Arabia

 • Qatar has not adhered to its commitments to Jordan before, How will it be committed today

• Turkey is not closer to Qatar more than Jordan

 • Qatar gave the Turkish president a plane that is worth hundreds of millions

 

Al-Anbat – Amman – Nemat  Al-Khoara

Photography: Mohammad Faisal

The United Arab Emirates Ambassador in Amman Matar Al Shamsi said today that the Jordanian-Emirati relations are on the rise and positive in a dazzling manner and are ideal relations between the countries and have never experienced any tension.

 Al-Shamsi said in an interview with Al-Anbat newspaper that since he took up his post as UAE ambassador in Jordan on September 4, he did not feel that he had left the UAE, pointing out that the Jordanian-Emirati relations are very progressive and he considers himself an ambassador of Jordan in the UAE and UAE ambassador in Jordan.

He said that The United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait had committed themselves as they pledged at the Mecca Summit by providing the necessary support to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and the agreements were signed several days ago in Amman.

He explained that the bilateral relations between the two countries have not been affected in any way despite what the Arab nation went through, the so-called Arab autumn or the calamities passed by some Arab countries, stressing that the relations in which the consensus is very large in all issues, which helps to succeed in his work as a representative UAE and embassy staff in Amman.

Ambassador Al Shamsi pointed out that Jordanian-Emirati relations arose before the establishment of the United Arab Emirates, a long and historical relationship extending to the end of the fifties of the last century where there was no so-called United Arab Emirates, but there were special relations between His Majesty King Hussein Bin Talal and the rulers of Abu Dhabi Including Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may God have mercy on him, and His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may God have mercy on him, who was then the Crown Prince.

He pointed out that Jordan was the first country to recognize the establishment of the UAE and the first to establish diplomatic relations at the ambassadorial level on December 3, 1971.

Ambassador Al Shamsi said that the percentage of the UAE community in Jordan is very simple, but there are a number of investors who are owners of real estate and farms, and that it is a good number of people who are interested in visiting the United Arab Emirates, Especially those who had received military training in the past.

"I am sorry to say that there are only a limited number of Emirati students in Jordan in postgraduate studies in some Jordanian universities, but there are no regular students," he said, noting that the embassy had a cultural attaché that was recently canceled.

Al Shamsi explained that the educational level in the UAE today is considered one of the best levels of education not only in the Middle East but also in the world. The UAE has many universities such as the United Arab Emirates University which was established in the mid-1970s and is now the number 350 in the world.

The UAE ambassador stressed that he does not reduce the level of education in Jordan as the level of education at the University of Jordan and the University of Applied Sciences, but pointed out that the levels of education in the UAE universities are stronger and more difficult and the most important thing today is the graduation of Emirati students that will serve their country.

He added that the UAE has an educational revolution and large universities such as the University of Oxford, Abu Dhabi, Zayed Sorbonne, American University and Higher Colleges of Technology. It also has universities with international names, so the UAE has become an attractive country for education in the world.

He added that there are Jordanian students from Canada, Australia, Asia and America in these universities, because the study is very strong to the extent that the UAE has advanced many stages in education.

On the Jordanian side, Ambassador Al Shamsi pointed out that the UAE offers between 40 and 50 scholarships for Jordanian students to study in the UAE. Similarly, it is offered to Emiratis from the Jordanian side and it is activated to a certain extent after the signing of memorandums of understanding between the Jordanian-Emirati High Joint Committee headed by Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi In which 13 memorandums of understanding were signed, including education and exchange of students.

Regarding the facilities offered by the UAE Embassy to Jordanians wishing to visit the UAE, the Ambassador said that directives from the UAE's senior leadership came to facilitate access to visas for Jordanians wishing to visit the UAE within a maximum period of 24 hours, whether through the embassy or tourist offices.

Ambassador Al Shamsi, who spoke about Jordan with great passion and love, said that the number of UAE tourists has increased in Jordan this year and that the number of patients who have been treated has increased, adding that the UAE Embassy is working to provide all facilities, services and advices to the Emirati brothers whether they were welcome at the airport and Support services in hotel reservations, rental of apartments and transportation, in addition to providing consultation services, hospital appointments and visits.

He said that there is currently a trend to transfer patients, who have traveled to Europe to get treatment in Jordan, and the idea is under study and the possibility of implementation is very soon because of the outstanding medical services in Jordan.

Al-Shamsi said during the meeting that Jordan is one of the biggest countries in the medical field, and there are very great experiences through the brothers coming from the UAE, who need medical treatment, "I am one of the people who have been treated and benefited a lot."

"There are many UAE brothers who came from the UAE, women and men, who have benefited greatly from medical treatment in Jordan," he said. "This is a personal pride and a pride for the UAE as it is a pride for Jordan.

With regard to the UAE's investment in Jordan and its size, Al Shamsi said that the UAE is seeking to increase the number of investors in Jordan, pointing out that the volume of investments in the UAE was 16 billion dollars, but exceeded this figure currently expected to increase to more than 16 billion in 2019.

He added that the most prominent investments in renewable energy, hospitals, universities, hotel facilities, real estate, water, bridges, electricity production, education and many investments have been included in these sectors.

 

On the rumors about the investments in Aqaba and the company Eagle Hills will finish its work there, the UAE ambassador said that these rumors echoed on the promoters, and words of shame on health, adding that the company is still in place and working at full capacity and the project is moving positively and if there is a delay " The brothers in Jordan know the reasons for the delay, hoping to overcome these reasons."

Ambassador Al-Shamsi wished during the talk of investments that procedures would be facilitated and bureaucracy reduced to bring in more investments. He also said he was ready as an ambassador to the United Arab Emirates to bring investments from the UAE if he received the facilities.

He added that Jordan's investment in the United Arab Emirates constitutes 17% of foreign investment, although Jordanian capital has returned part of it to Jordan to make its economy one of the strongest economies of the world.

"Why does the Gulf investor go to other countries instead of Jordan, despite the availability of ready infrastructure in all services, and that Jordan brings the same customs and traditions to the Gulf, and that the respect accorded to the UAE and other Gulf countries in Jordan is not obtained in any other country”  He wondered.

He said: Start the project and give the plan of facilities for the establishment of the project and after its establishment and access to achieve capital, taxes start gradually to reach a high ceiling and this was applied in many countries, including Egypt, Turkey, Gulf countries, Cyprus and Ethiopia.

Al Shamsi put his hand on the pain by saying, "But what is sadly regrettable is the bureaucracy that drives the investor out because the capital is cowardly, and I cannot ask an investor to invest in a place and he fails tomorrow and the blame falls on me."

"I am ready to give you my soul on a plate and I serve you,as an ambassador to the UAE. I care about this alot. How can I make UAE investments in Jordan? This is my wish before leaving this chair.”

On what distinguishes the investment in the UAE, Ambassador Al Shamsi said that there is one law that governs investors and mechanisms, any investor or even those who enter the UAE as a visit and wants to become an investor and has the capital has to obtain the commercial license within minutes online, then the visit visa becomes a residence visa, after which the other procedures begin.

Al Shamsi praised the investment in the UAE in Jordan, stressing that in the fields of construction, the strongest companies in the UAE are Jordanian companies in addition to IT and advanced technological services.

“I do not say that the UAE is a model, but it is classified as one of the most advanced models in the field of investments and there are models from other countries neighboring Jordan that can be used.”

Ambassador Al-Shamsi reviewed during the meeting the most important areas of cooperation between the two countries. He pointed out that there is cooperation between the two governments in all fields and that the positions are united in all issues and economic, political, security and military cooperation, whether it is a policeman or the level of the armed forces at the highest levels. The relations between Jordan and UAE are perfect.

On the initiatives being offered by the UAE to Jordan, Ambassador Mattar Al Shamsi said that there have been initiatives in the infrastructure in some colleges in universities, medical services and education, in addition to initiatives at the military level, amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars.

He pointed out that there are new initiatives signed several months ago, where a memorandum of understanding was signed between the Council of Ministers in the UAE and the Council of Ministers in Jordan until the end of 2020, to develop the technical side and electronic connectivity and to find offices that provide services to all beneficiaries.

 

"For example, we have offices in the UAE called Tasheel and as a beneficiary of the service. I have several transactions with many institutions. I submit my papers to Tasheel, along with the documents. I pay the fees, and the document comes after hours to my home and the UAE is going to apply it in Jordan. In addition to working on the electronic connectivity between the Government institutions in Jordan and this is one of the goals "

He added that there is an initiative to train one million Jordanian programmers through the initiative of the UAE Council of Ministers and to launch an award for creative students, an innovation and excellence award for creative university students who provide innovations and technical services to serve government services in Jordan. Beside the training and qualification of government employees, electronic connectivity, and services that will move Jordan to a very advanced level in the field of government services.

On the UAE grants to Jordan, Al Shamsi said that since 2011, they has reached $ 1.25 billion, while stressing that the upcoming visits of leaders between the two countries will result in a lot of UAE projects, services and support for Jordan.

Jordan deserves all the support and requires us to join hands to support it being surrounded by challenges. The situation is deteriorating in Syria, Iraq and Palestine. Since 1948, there have been many migrations to this day from Palestine and Iraq and the return of our Palestinian and Jordanian people during the invasion of Kuwait and the embrace of our Syrian brethren deserves all the support.

"I raise my hand and I kiss the forehead of every soldier and security man who has worked on this pure land, and who has worked to preserve its territory and its possessions under the Hashemite leadership, I am in a country where I feel secured on my children and myself, and I find all respect and appreciation of the Jordanian people and Jordanian authorities, I hope that God shall make this land a oasis of security and safety" he said.

He added that there are other initiatives related to the Medical City and Renewable Energy project with $ 220 million currently under construction. There are colleges established in Maan, the Faculty of Pharmacy and the Faculty of Science, which will be published soon.

On trade exchange, Ambassador Al Shamsi said that trade exchange is focused on export and re-export, there are existing agreements between the two countries, and tax exemption between the two countries.

He pointed out that Jordan is specialized in agriculture and agricultural materials and that there is an initiative to support Jordan in this area. The days will be from 21 to 23 of this month the first festival of Jordanian dates with the full support of Khalifa International Dates Award and will be held at the Intercontinental Hotel in Amman, and formed a committee by the Jordanian side and with the full support of the UAE, which is only for Jordanian dates of unknown kind.

He noted that it is the first of its kind, and a festival was held in Egypt for four years and Sudan for two years. The festival will include international arbitrators and international companies to market the Jordanian dates. After the end of the festival, the first recommendations will be issued with the full support of the UAE, and the second is the production and modification of its type through the Khalifa Award for dates.

The UAE ambassador said that Jordan is important to him and represents the UAE. Despite all the challenges, he believes that relations are very distinct; noting that he always receives recommendations from the leadership in the UAE in one letter. "I recommend Jordan to you." He added that the Hashemite family is one of the closest families to the UAE, and all the leaders are close in age.

Al-Shamsi praised the security and military services that have been able to maintain Jordan's security and safety from the state of instability that surrounds it and wished Jordan all the best because it is the heart and warm embrace of all those who come to it.

As for the UAE's relationship with Qatar, Ambassador Al Shamsi said that the Gulf countries have suffered greatly with Qatar and Qatar's support for terrorism, which is not new and it has been around for nearly 20 years, and that the Qatari brothers have been talking directly about mistakes and slaps they make against the Gulf countries UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and even Egypt.

He pointed out that the fingers of accusation go to the Qatari forces, when they were part of the coalition to restore the legitimacy of Yemen, they did not enter Yemen and remained on the Saudi border and committed treason, where 50 soldiers from our "sons" were killed with one blow After giving the enemy coordinates to hit our children and after the expulsion of the Qatari forces from this military alliance, these events stopped.

He added that Qatari support for the opposition has been monitored in Bahrain, events have stopped, Bahrain has become stable, and financial, moral and provocative support for eastern Saudi Arabia has ended, therefore all events that are against the law have ended.

Al-Shamsi said that Syria at the same time suffered from Qatari interference in its support for the Nasra Front, as well as in Iraq and other countries.

He added that Qatar has supported the opposition, the Muslim Brotherhood and the terrorist organizations. "I have a lot of evidence of the negative role of Qatar," he said, adding that "there is no hostility between the people of the Gulf countries, boycotting Qatar and the Qataris because they are one tribe, For the benefit of those working for the organization of Hamdeen and for this agenda. "

 

Al-Shamsi asked whether it is in the interests of the Gulf states and Jordan to destroy Syria and destroy Iraq. "Today, the one who loses from the closure of the Syrian-Iraqi-Jordanian borders is Jordan," he said, adding that the border would be opened soon and Jordan would benefit from trade with Syria and Iraq.

 The Qatari role is very bad and negative and did not serve our agenda in the Arab world, it was discovered early and not late, and they were informed of the evidence and proofs, and they were spoken to directly, and Qatar’s role is negative and it does not serve the Arab world.

 

He pointed out that the State of Qatar has extended and sent to the land corruption and we have documents which condemn them very much. We have arrested people from Qatar who were supporting the Muslim Brotherhood and they have opponents intended to carry out acts of sabotage and unfortunately they did in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain and even in Kuwait.

Al-Shamsi asked, who is  Al-Jazeera and its agenda working for, pointing out that it was the only one that was able to conduct television interviews with al-Qaeda leaders in Afghanistan and the Nasra Front, in addition to the Huthis today in Yemen, who do not make up 3% of the Yemeni people. Al Jazeera, which indicates that it is connected with terrorist organizations and not with governments or official spokesmen.

"I do not wait for Qatar today to moderate," he said, pointing out that the speech by Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir and Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, UAE's foreign minister at the United Nations, which is a living evidence of the reasons for the boycott of Qatar, adding that Qatar has signed on conditions and it was set with an agreement in 2013 prepared in 2014 and threw it off the wall and did not adhere to and continued.

Al-Shamsi said that Qatar is now suffering from economic debts due to the boycott , Qatar Airways has recognized losses in billions due to the absence of passengers just thousands, while Emirates airports are packed with 125-130 million passengers annually.

 

He noted that the economic losses of 500 billion dollars, which is considered astronomical result of the boycott. However, everyone in the Gulf States wishes Qatar good and it is not just as besieged as it claims, it is only boycotted , because it has an open marine and air space and can move through it.

Al Shamsi stressed during the conversation that if Qatar would be back and moderated. All the Gulf countries will have the support for it, pointing out that the evidence that Qatar was playing a role in the instability of the situation in Bahrain and eastern Saudi Arabia and many countries, because there is pressure and follow-up on Qatar for its funds, But it did not stop supporting opponents.

Al-Shamsi said that what is happening in Qatar is shameful, of the support for terrorism and an abnormal direction for the existence of a Turkish base and a presence of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. He pointed out that it is not in the interest of the Gulf countries to attack Qatar because they are "our people".

 

He said the UAE was suffering from Qatar by throwing it on charges that had nothing to do with the fact that the UAE was a prison state and that Qatar was in breach of international reports that it was a safe city in the world and for years it was the city of Abu Dhabi, a UN report.

 

"What did you do , Emir of Qatar, the tribe of Ghufran you took their rights and withdrew their nationalities, 6 thousand people wandering in the desert without rights to add to the tribe of Ain Marra, and who opposes Tamim was put in prisons and your officers are insulted by a Turkish officer, and you cannot do something,  and you give Turkey $ 15 billion, Qatar did not provide within the Gulf grant its commitment 1,250 billion dollars and comes today to say that it will provide 500 million, where are the 10,000 jobs that have been developed for Jordanians and did not provide one post so far.”

"Turkey is no closer to Qatar than Jordan, because Jordan is a preferred country in the Gulf countries, and if we do not support it, there is no good in us, and who is the first to have support is it Jordan or Turkey, where are the Qatari projects in Jordan?" noting that a special plane was given to the Turkish president Ragab Tayyip Ardogan worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

He also asked what has Qatar provided for the Palestinians except for the media and did not deliver any food aid, hospital or dispensary. The Palestinians did not receive a single meal from Qatar or a reconstruction at a time when Saudi Arabia was the biggest supporter, UAE and Kuwait.

 He noted “everyone should thins rationally about who is working against, and that Qatar was never serving the solitude agendas and unity in the Gulf countries, and today it is playing a role in dismantling of Gulf .For years, Qatar was attacking the Prince of Kuwait and today, when they saw that he had an intermediate role in the boycott, things have changed for them, indicating that talking about Qatar needs days.

 

Al-Shamsi called on Qatar to return to itself and study what has been achieved.

 

The Ambassador concluded by saying that the UAE will never hesitate to support Jordan and will not make Jordan arms folded by waiting for external support. The UAE will be the main supporter for it and this is not a formality but a part of a beautiful response to Jordan and its people that are working in the UAE,  300 thousand of Jordanian citizens in the UAE  of the finest and cleanest people and communities, and the directions in the UAE are that the Jordanian shall live honored and he shall have priorities assigning him and that his visa shall not take more than 24 hours,  therefore Jordanians are welcome in the UAE.