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King, Crown Prince to attend Jordan-support Mecca meeting

His Majesty welcomes Saudi gesture to convene regional meeting

By Mohammad Ghazal - Jun 10,2018 - Last updated at Jun 10,2018

AMMAN — Jordan on Saturday welcomed Saudi Arabia's initiative to hold a meeting in Mecca on Sunday to discuss means of supporting the Kingdom, with the participation of Kuwait, Jordan and the UAE.

The Royal Court statement announced that His Majesty King Abdullah, accompanied by HRH Crown Prince Hussein, will take part in the meeting in Mecca that was called for by King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud with the participation of Kuwait and the UAE.

His Majesty, the statement said, voiced appreciation for the initiative of King Salman to hold the meeting, stressing the "deep-rooted" ties between Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the participating countries.

He underscored the three countries' support for the Kingdom in all "times and under all circumstances".

Meanwhile, an official told The Jordan Times: "We highly value Saudi Arabia's initiative which comes at an important time," stressing on the "strategic ties" between Jordan and the Gulf states.

The upcoming meeting was announced on Friday by the Saudi Royal Court, as reported by the Saudi Press Agency in a statement on its website.

"Emanating from his care for the condition of the Arab nation as well as his keenness on whatever achieves security and stability for the Arab nation, the custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has been following the economic crisis in Jordan and has made telephone calls to King Abdullah II Bin Al Hussein of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah of Kuwait and Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, crown prince of Abu Dhabi and deputy supreme commander of the UAE armed forces," the statement indicated.

The parties agreed to hold the meeting to discuss means of supporting Jordan to overcome its current crisis, the agency reported.

“This is a very positive and promising initiative that comes at a crucial time,” Musa Shteiwi, director of the University of Jordan’s Centre of Strategic Studies, told The Jordan Times on Saturday, noting: “The relations between Jordan and the Gulf countries and Saudi Arabia in particular are strategic and historic…following the nationwide protests in the country, the Gulf states sensed the need to help Jordan, which is facing financial challenges and difficulties.”

After tens of thousands of Jordanians took to the streets over the past days to protest the income tax draft law and the government’s economic policies, the government of Hani Mulki resigned and Omar Razzaz, former education minister, was tasked with heading a new government. 

Razzaz has so far succeeded in defusing tension as he pledged to withdraw the bill and start a national dialogue on the legislation in addition to working to ease challenges Jordanians face.

“There were some differences sometimes between Jordan and the Gulf about some regional issues, but that does not negate the fact that Jordan and the Gulf states enjoy excellent relations,” the official stated, adding: “The meeting in Mecca sends an important message and is considered political and an economic support to Jordan.”

During the first four months of 2018, foreign grants to the Kingdom amounted to JD74.1 million compared to JD85 million during the same period of 2017, recording a JD10.9 million drop, according to the Ministry of Finance.

Meanwhile, the gross public debt at the end of April 2018 was JD27.721 billion, or 96 per cent of the estimated GDP at the end of April 2018, compared to JD 27.269 billon (95.3 per cent of GDP) at the end of 2017.

Jamal Al Shalabi, a professor of political science at the Hashemite University, said that holding the meeting is a “testimony to the strategic ties between Jordan and the Gulf states”.

“Jordan’s security impacts the entire region’s security… Jordan, along with the Gulf states, is part of US-led alliances and coalitions in the region,” he told The Jordan Times.

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