​The President of the University of Jordan/ Aqaba Branch, Professor Ghaleb Abbasi, met,  at the university's headquarters in Aqaba, with the Director of the Environment, Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction Program at the United Nations Development Program, Dr. Nedal Al-Oran and his accompanying delegation to discuss ways of cooperation between the two institutions through creating projects related to the protection of the marine and coastal environment in the Gulf of Aqaba, with a special focus on the coral reef environment that characterizes the Gulf, a region where the university plays a pivotal role in protecting and reinforcing natural resources, and enhancing their value for community service and economic growth.

 

Professor Abbasi welcomed the visiting delegation, stressing the close bonds of cooperation in all related fields, especially those related to research projects aimed at improving and developing local communities, pointing to the strategic role played by the University of Jordan/ Aqaba branch, in this context, especially in the southern region of the Kingdom.

 

The President also expressed full readiness to harness all academic and logistical capabilities for the success of the efforts made in implementing projects related to climate change, in a way that translates the efforts of the Jordanian government and the directives of the higher leadership so that Jordan plays a major role in protecting the elements and components of the environment as a contribution to shouldering responsibilities towards the Earth's environment.

 

Dr. Abbasi thus said that the idea of ​​the Gulf of Aqaba project, which includes Jordan and Egypt, and is supported by the International Fund for Coral Reefs (GFCR), is based on providing basic financing to enhance the role of the private sector and integrate it in enhancing development activities based on the principles of the green economy and the blue economy.

 

For his part, Dr. Al-Oran stated that the academic disciplines and qualified faculty members at the University of Jordan, Aqaba Branch, and the Marine Science Station, and the tangible progress achieved in caring for and protecting marine life, constitute an important and reliable platform for solving environmental problems and discovering disasters before they occur.

 

Hence, he referred to the national and sectoral priorities in promoting the concepts of climate change and sustainable solutions, based on environmental solutions, that contribute to the building of a common global vision, aiming to make the planet healthy and prosperous, and recover after the Covid 19 pandemic, stressing that there is an urgent need in the world to take steps and swift action to protect the planet's environment.

 

It is also worth noting that this project is supervised in Jordan by the Ministry of Environment and the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority, which plays a pivotal role in the development of natural resources and their good use in the service of sustainable development in the region.

 

The meeting was attended by the Dean of the College of Basic and Marine Sciences, Dr. Muhammad Al-Zabada, the Dean of the College of Tourism, Dr. Ayman Harb, the Director of the Marine Sciences Station, Dr. Ali Al-Sawalmeh, the Head of the Biology and Mathematics Department, Dr. Anas Al-Tawalbeh, and the Director of the Office of the President of the University of Jordan, Aqaba Branch, Muhannad Al-Momani.