Razzaz, Palestinian counterpart meet to coordinate positions

AMMAN — Prime Minister Omar Razzaz emphasised that Jordan's constants towards the Palestinian issue will never change and are based on a two-state solution, which should lead to ending the Israeli occupation and establishing an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Razzaz's remarks came during a meeting on Monday with the Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

He also reiterated that Jordan's position on the Palestinian issue, Jerusalem and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) is clear and consistent with the Palestinian position, stressing that Palestine remains on top of Jordan's foreign diplomacy agenda. 

On the “historic and solid” Jordanian-Palestinian relations, Razzaz said: "We are one people in two states."

The premier pointed out during the talks, which were attended by a number of ministers and officials from both sides, the importance of coordination between the two countries at the highest levels, under the directives of His Majesty King Abdullah and the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, on all political, economic and social issues.

Razzaz said Jordan is looking for further cooperation and coordination to increase trade between Jordan and Palestine, adding: "We hope that the trade volume would reach $500 million.”

He pointed out that his government is working, through the relevant ministries and their counterparts in Palestine, to come up with solutions to further develop economic and trade relations between the two countries and create commercial and investment opportunities for the Jordanian and Palestinian business community.

He also said that Amman wants to further facilitate containers traffic to and from the Palestinian territories, adding that work is under way to upgrade the King Hussein Bridge, with the aim of  enhancing trade exchange with Palestine and facilitating the entry of Palestinian goods to Jordan.

Razzaz pointed to the rough circumstances the region is currently going through as a result of the geopolitical conditions in the Arab region and their negative repercussions on Arab economies, adding that such matters “made it incumbent upon us to find effective mechanisms to upscale our economies to absorb these changes, and that requires action in a spirit of partnership and solidarity to overcome these difficulties”.

For his part, Hamdallah commended Jordan’s support for the Palestinians, highlighting the Kingdom’s stand on the so-called “deal of the century”, the plan reportedly in the making in Washington, DC, to solve the Mideast conflict, and the Kingdom’s support for efforts to establish an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Hamdallah also underscored Jordan’s stand on the issue of UNRWA, pointing out to a pan-Arab ministerial conference held in Cairo recently to discuss the agency’s crisis, as well as the participation in Rome conference. 

The Palestinian premier also thanked Jordan for increasing the number of scholarships for Palestinian students and called on Razzaz to hold the sixth meeting of the Joint Jordanian-Palestinian Higher Committee next year in Palestine.