Jordan an ‘invaluable partner’ for Japan — ambassador

AMMAN — Jordan has been playing a very important role, not only in the region, but also within the international community to achieve regional security and stability, and has been an “invaluable” partner of Japan, Ambassador Shuichi Sakurai said late Tuesday.

The envoy said Japan seeks to deepen its bilateral relations with Jordan, which is viewed as an important partner that shares the fundamental values of coexistence, cooperation and tolerance.

“Jordan is an invaluable partner of Japan,” Sakurai said, and this is due to many reasons, including the Kingdom’s firm intention for “coexistence”, evident in its strong commitment to the Middle East peace process and its generous acceptance of a large number of Syrians, despite its financial burdens.

The diplomat was speaking at a reception held to mark Japan’s National Day, celebrating the birthday of Emperor Akihito.

The envoy noted that this year marks the 60th anniversary since the establishment of Jordanian-Japanese diplomatic ties and “I am confident that our future relations will flourish more, and Japan looks forward to working with Jordan further for world peace and prosperity.”

He also noted that His Majesty King Abdullah has visited Japan 11 times so far, with the last visit was three weeks ago.

During that visit, Japan approved a grant to Jordan totalling approximately 2.4 billion yen (around $20 million) in assistance, pledging constant support as the Kingdom faces multiple challenges.

The two countries signed an agreement under which Japan will provide Jordan with aid for the rehabilitation and expansion of water networks in Balqa Governorate (2.238 billion yen), and a grant for the provision of Japanese small- and medium-sized enterprise products (200 million yen) in cooperation with the Japan International Cooperation Agency.