Jordan working for pan-Arab summit that can ‘make a difference’

AMMAN — Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi on Tuesday held talks with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

On the sidelines of the 147th Arab League Council meeting, they discussed “practical steps that should be taken to improve bilateral ties”, as directed by His Majesty King Abdullah and President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi. 

They also went over preparations under way for the upcoming Arab summit, stressing the significance of the pan-Arab meeting to activate joint action. 

In addition, the top diplomats discussed ongoing efforts to end the stalemate in the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, and the attempts to resolve the Syrian crisis.

Safadi acquainted Shukri with the outcome of his recent visit to Brussels and meetings with EU foreign ministers. 

During his participation in the Arab League meeting, Safadi stressed that Amman seeks to render the Arab summit meeting, slated for the last week of March on the shores of the Dead Sea, a platform to launch institutional and effective pan-Arab action. 

He said in his remarks that Jordan seeks specific initiatives and programmes to achieve that goal, adding that it is hoped that Arab countries would exhibit the will to make a difference to the status quo and the difficult situation the nation is undergoing.

The foreign minister reiterated that the Palestinian issue would remain the primary cause of Arabs, stressing that there would be no peace or stability in the region without lifting the oppression Palestinians are subject to under the Israeli occupation. He said that there is no alternative to the two-state solution, which should lead to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state within the June 4, 1967 lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital. 

Safadi reasserted Jordan’s determination to preserve the Arab identity of Jerusalem, as part of the Hashemite custodianship of the holy sites in the occupied city.

The war on terror is “our war that we fight in defence of true Islam and the values of peace and respect of life it represents”, the top diplomat told his audience, urging cooperation to “defeat the khawarij [outlaws of Islam] of this age”.

On Syria, the foreign minister reiterated Jordan’s stand in support of a peaceful solution to the conflict, underlining Jordan’s participation in the Astana ceasefire talks as an observer.

Calling on the world community to further support Syrian refugees and host communities, emphasising that any failure to meet such an obligation would leave refugee communities vulnerable to terrorist recruiters. 

Jordan also supports Iraq in its fight against the Daesh terrorist group, Safadi told his peers, and a national reconciliation process that secures the rights of all segments of the Iraqi society. 

The minister also underlined Jordan’s backing of efforts to restore peace and stability in Yemen under its legitimate leadership, and in Libya, where rival factions are encouraged to resume their negotiations to achieve national concord.