US ambassador hosts Princess Sumaya, delegations

AMMAN — Ambassador Henry T. Wooster hosted HRH Princess Sumaya Bint Al Hassan and a delegation from the Royal Scientific Society (RSS), Princess Sumaya University for Technology (PSUT), iPARK and the Queen Rania Centre for Entrepreneurship (QRCE) to mark the launch of a grant funded by the Public Affairs Section of the US Embassy, meant to help Jordanian entrepreneurs build their capacity and expand to the US market.

The robust discussion of science and technology highlighted the strength of US-Jordan scientific and economic cooperation.  Ambassador Wooster lauded the bilateral relationship, stating that “our interests are extraordinarily the same”, according to a statement made available to The Jordan Times. 

He underscored the importance of private sector growth for economic strength and praised the success of iPark’s and QRCE’s programmes as “a testament to the vital role entrepreneurship plays in promoting economic growth”.  

Princess Sumaya stated in a different context that “relations between the United States and Jordan have served as a model for fostering equality, friendship, and collaboration across nations of varying sizes, socioeconomic systems and cultural backgrounds”. 

The princess shared the need for science diplomacy, characterising “science as a bridge for peace”.  She expressed interest in furthering an already robust programme of US-Jordan scientific and academic cooperation.  

Al Hassan Science City is an umbrella organisation that nurtures the entrepreneurial spirit in all its member institutions: The RSS, PSUT and iPARK. 

The RSS was founded in 1970 by HM late King Hussein and HRH Prince Al Hassan and is an umbrella organisation for iPARK and QRCE.  

PSUT, one of Al Hassan Scientific City’s three member institutions, enjoys a prestigious reputation as a pioneering university in the fields of engineering, IT and business technology.  PSUT is internationally accredited and has academic cooperation agreements with colleges in the United States, including the University of Arizona — Tucson, Colorado State University, the University of Michigan — Dearborn, Oakland University and Indiana University. iPark was established in 2003 has graduated over 300 startups since its start, including a clean technology startup which installs solar charging stations for electric vehicles. The startup was created by a Jordanian-American who utilised knowledge from the US for the Jordan-based project, according to the statement.

Moreover, iPARK has continuously benefitted from various USAID funded projects, such as SABEQ and JCP, which has helped it expand and grow its operations. 

The princess stated: “Today’s event is the culmination of a productive collaboration with the US Embassy through the programme ‘Touchdown’ which will assist and support high-growth Jordanian startups in evaluating, making validated decisions and navigating the US market by providing participating startups with structured capacity building, detailed assessment, mentorship sessions and connections to relevant US local partners.” 

This entrepreneurship grant with the RSS advances private sector growth through training 60 startups across Jordan’s governorates and selecting 16 to fund and take to the US to help access and expand into the US market, deepening economic ties between the US and Jordan, the statement said.