King meets delegates from US think tank

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Monday met a delegation from the US-based Atlantic Council over regional and world developments, especially efforts to forge a comprehensive political solution to the Syrian crisis.

At the meeting, held at Al Husseiniya Palace, the King and the delegates — headed by former US secretary of state Madeleine Albright — also went over the latest developments in the Iraqi arena, according to a Royal Court statement.

The delegates, who are currently in the Kingdom as part of a regional tour, expressed their appreciation of Jordan’s efforts in enhancing world peace and security, praising King Abdullah’s approach to managing the challenges facing the Middle East, the statement added.

Royal Court Chief Fayez Tarawneh and King’s Office Director Jafar Hassan attended the meeting.

Also on Monday, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh met with the delegates and reviewed strategic partnership relations between Jordan and the US and the latest developments in the region, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Judeh outlined developments in Syria and the international efforts to end the crisis there, reiterating the Kingdom’s “unaltered” stance that calls for a political solution.

In this regard, the foreign minister underlined the “huge burden” Jordan is bearing as a result of receiving around 1.3 million Syrian refugees and providing services to them. 

He also highlighted the significance of providing a good environment for resuming effective and serious negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis that lead to implementing the two-state solution according to international resolutions and the Arab Peace Initiative, stressing that Jordan is a partner in the peace process and has vested interests in the final-status issues.

Discussions also tackled the developments in Libya, Yemen and Iraq, and the need to find political solutions to these issues, Petra added.

According to its website, the Atlantic Council, a non-partisan think tank, “promotes constructive leadership and engagement in international affairs based on the Atlantic Community’s central role in meeting global challenges”.