IIASA Director General Albert van Jaarsveld has led a delegation to Jordan to consolidate collaboration with the country's scientific leaders and research communities.

Jordan is a prospective member of IIASA through the Royal Scientific Society of Jordan (RSS), IIASA's main partner in the kingdom, and this visit builds on longstanding collaboration with HRH Princess Sumaya bint El Hassan, President of the RSS, who has been influential in positioning and enabling the country as a leading advocate for science and a catalyst for change.

This meeting consolidates IIASA and Jordan's common interests: advancing and building capacity in systems analysis, applying systems science to global and local challenges such as water scarcity, sustainable energy transition, air and water pollution, the impact of climate change on agriculture, and using science to build bridges across national boundaries.

The delegation will meet with Jordanian scientific and government leaders and policymakers including HRH Prince El Hassan bin Talal, Founder and Chairman of the RSS, HRH Princess Sumaya bint El Hassan, President of the RSS, Ayman Al Safadi, the Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Nabeel Al Fayoumi, Vice President for Technology (RSS) , Ilyad Al Dasouqui, Director of Research Operations and Coordination Centre (RSS), Rana Arda, Manager of Water Studies Division, (RSS), Ruba Ajjour, Manager of Climate Change Studies Division (RSS), Kyle Cordova, Executive Director of the Scientific Research Sector, and Mohammad Asfour, Funding Chair of WADI for Sustainable Ecosystems Development.

This partnership will allow Jordanian scientists and researchers to contribute to multi-disciplinary and multi-national policy-oriented research. The sharing of expertise will help us move from monitoring to modeling and assessment so that we may plan for a sustainable future. Together, we can make a difference and steer a course to sanity.

The visit included a tour of the Synchrotron-light for Experimental Science and Application (SESAME), the first synchroton light source in the middle-east, which is a cooperative venture by scientists and governments of the region set up on the model of the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) under the auspices of UNESCO. The IIASA delegation was hosted , SESAME Director Khaled Toukanand who is also the chairman of the Jordanian Atomic Energy Commission.

Van Jaarsveld was accompanied by IIASA Biodiversity and Natural Resources (BNR) Program Director Yoshihide Wada, Water Security (WAT) Research Group Leader Taher Kahil, Cooperation and Transformative Governance (CAT) Research Group Leader Nadejda Komendantova, and Head of Communications and External Relations Department Iain Stewart.

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22.03 IIASA strengthens collaboration and relations with Jordan