Kingdom, EU discuss strategic partnership, Mideast

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Saturday met with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini over strategic cooperation and partnership between the Kingdom and the union.

During the meeting, they reviewed the reforms and economic programmes carried out by the Kingdom to overcome the economic and financial challenges imposed by regional crises, a Royal Court statement said.

His Majesty also stressed the importance of reaching a just and comprehensive peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis based on the two-state solution, leading to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

He noted the importance of reaching political solutions to crises in the Middle East region, especially the Syrian crisis. His Majesty underlined the need to maintain the de-escalation zone in southwestern Syria, which was declared last year after the tripartite agreement between Jordan, the United States and Russia.

For her part, Mogherini expressed the EU’s appreciation for Jordan’s efforts under the leadership of His Majesty the King to achieve security, peace and stability in the region, stressing the importance of the international community to shoulder its responsibilities to support the Kingdom to overcome the challenges.

The meeting was attended by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates in the caretaker government Ayman Safadi, Adviser to His Majesty, Director of the Office of His Majesty, Manar Dabbas and the EU Ambassador to Jordan Andrea Matteo Fontana.