King discusses war on terror at Hague’s ‘Aqaba meetings’

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Monday participated in the “Aqaba meetings” held in The Hague, the Netherlands, to follow up on the coordination of international efforts in the war on terror, according to a Royal Court statement.

The meeting, which was hosted by the Netherlands in cooperation with Jordan, focused on international action to counter terrorism and extremism, especially in Europe.    

The Jordanian delegation accompanying the King included HRH Prince Hashem, the chief chamberlain, HRH Prince Ghazi Bin Muhammad, His Majesty’s chief adviser for religious and cultural affairs and personal envoy, Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, Adviser to His Majesty and Director of His Majesty Office Manar Dabbas. 

The meeting saw the participation of ministers, politicians and security officials from several European countries, the US, Canada and Australia, as well as officials and representatives from the UN, the EU and NATO.

On the sidelines of the meeting, His Majesty met with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte in The Hague, the Royal Court statement said, where talks focused on bilateral relations and ways to boost cooperation on various levels.

They agreed to capitalise on the deals signed between the two sides during the King’s visit to the Netherlands in March, when both sides agreed to expand cooperation in a range of fields, including agriculture. The Dutch, it was agreed, would transfer their expertise in the sector to Jordanian farmers. 

The King and Rutte also went over regional developments, calling for a just peace to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and a political solution to the Syrian crisis. 

King Abdullah also held meetings with the UK’s Minister of State for Europe and the Americas Alan Duncan, Cyprus’ Foreign Minister Nikos Christodoulides, Portuguese Minister of Internal Administration Eduardo Cabrita and Deputy Secretary General of NATO Rose Gottemoeller.

Monday’s session of the Aqaba meeting spotlighted mutual cooperation and counter-terrorism efforts within a holistic strategy, in addition to a set of regional issues.

The Netherlands is the second country to host an international meeting within the framework of the Aqaba Meetings, with the first meeting held outside the Kingdom having been organised, in Albania in June.

King Abdullah launched the Aqaba meetings in 2015, with the aim of fostering military and security cooperation and coordination, as well as exchange of expertise and information among different regional and international parties, to counter terrorism within a holistic approach, the statement added.

Over the past years, the Aqaba meetings featured similar regionally-focused discussions with heads and representatives of a number of states in east and west Africa, southeast Asia, and the Balkans, as well as senior officials from around the world.