‘New Zealand FM due in Amman Tuesday’

AMMAN — New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully is due in Amman on Tuesday to discuss several regional security issues with Jordanian officials.

According to a statement released by New Zealand’s foreign ministry, McCully is scheduled to discuss the crisis in Syria and the ongoing threat of the Islamic State (IS) terror group, after attending the 24th African Union Summit in Addis Ababa.

Following the AU Summit, which runs from January 26-27, McCully will visit Jordan to discuss regional security issues, the statement said.

“New Zealand and Jordan are currently serving together on the Security Council. This visit provides an opportunity to discuss the situation in Syria, ISIL [the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant] and the Middle East peace process,” the statement quoted McCully as saying.

He added that “Jordan is seeing firsthand the impact the crisis in Syria is having on the wider region, and its perspective on addressing this pressing humanitarian situation is particularly valuable.”

New Zealand supports “a just, comprehensive and lasting two-state solution to the question of Palestine: the establishment of a viable Palestinian state, alongside a secure state of Israel”, according to the foreign ministry’s website.