King performs umra, meets Saudi monarch

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Tuesday performed umra (minor pilgrimage) in Mecca and met with Saudi King Salman Bin Abdulaziz over bilateral ties and regional issues, according to a Royal Court statement.

His Majesty performed Maghreb (sunset), Ishaa (evening) and Tarawih (special Ramadan prayers) prayers at the Grand Mosque in Mecca before meeting later in the evening with the Saudi monarch.

Talks focused on bilateral ties and ways to advance them to new levels, in a way that serves the interests of the two countries and Arab-Islamic causes.

The meeting, which continued over a dinner banquet held in honour of the King and the accompanying delegates and attended by Saudi royal family members and senior officials, also focused on regional crises and efforts to solve them through political means, in a manner that allows people of countries suffering from conflict to live in peace and security, the Royal Court said.

Prime Minister Hani Mulki, Royal Court Chief Fayez Tarawneh, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff Lt. Gen. Mahmoud Freihat, General Intelligence Department Director Maj. Gen. Adnan Jundi, King Office Director Jafar Hassan and King Adviser and National Policies Council Rapporteur Abdullah Wreikat attended the meeting.

Upon his arrival at the King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, His Majesty was received by Governor of Makkah Province Prince Khalid Al Faisal, senior Saudi officials and members of Jordan›s consulate in Jeddah.

HRH Prince Feisal was sworn in as Regent. 

In March, King Abdullah and King Salman held a summit meeting in Amman that saw on its sidelines the signing of a series of agreements aimed at boosting ties, foremost of which is the memorandum of association for a company that will run the Saudi-Jordanian Investment Fund, which will be investing $3 billion in projects in Jordan. 

The two leaders highlighted the significance of the Jordanian-Saudi Coordination Council’s meetings and their contribution to enhancing and institutionalising the strategic partnership between the two kingdoms.

They also stressed the need for continued coordination and cooperation between the two countries on all regional and international issues of mutual concern, the statement said, announcing that they saw eye to eye on the need to intensify efforts to push the peace process forward, to lead to the relaunch of serious and effective negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis based on the two-state solution, the Arab Peace Initiative and international resolutions. 

They also agreed on the need to maintain the status quo in Jerusalem, as “any violation would have implications on the security and stability of the region as a whole”.

During the summit, both kings stressed support for efforts aimed at achieving security and stability in the region and the necessity of continuing the war on terror through the international coalition against Daesh, the Islamic military alliance against terrorism and the Arab coalition for the restoration of legitimacy in Yemen.