Jordan, Kosovo agree to expand cooperation

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Thursday held talks with Atifete Jahjaga, president of the Republic of Kosovo, during which they stressed their joint commitment to boosting bilateral cooperation in various spheres. 

During the talks, the two sides expressed hope that the visit of Kosovo’s president to the Kingdom would represent an important step towards building strong relations between the two countries. 

Potential fields of cooperation include economy, commerce, investment and expertise exchange, a Royal Court statement said. 

Talks addressed current regional developments, especially those related to achieving Middle East peace and the current US-brokered negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis, on the basis of UN resolutions, the two-state solution and the Arab Peace Initiative. 

In this context, King Abdullah stressed Jordan’s consistent position calling for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on Palestinian national soil with East Jerusalem as its capital, noting that this lies at the core of the Kingdom’s higher national interests. 

Talks also addressed the repercussions of the Syrian crisis. The two leaders stressed the importance of arriving at an inclusive political solution that engages all components of the Syrian population and would preclude further repercussions of the crisis. 

King Abdullah emphasised the burdens borne by the Kingdom due to hosting the largest number of Syrian refugees, highlighting the requirements needed to provide undisrupted humanitarian services.

Jahjaga said she was looking forward to activating the various aspects of cooperation in order to build strong partnerships between the two countries.  

Potential fields of cooperation include economy, commerce, investment and expertise exchange, a Royal Court statement said. 

Talks addressed current regional developments, especially those related to achieving Middle East peace and the current US-brokered negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis, on the basis of UN resolutions, the two-state solution and the Arab Peace Initiative. 

In this context, King Abdullah stressed Jordan’s consistent position calling for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on Palestinian national soil with East Jerusalem as its capital, noting that this lies at the core of the Kingdom’s higher national interests. 

Talks also addressed the repercussions of the Syrian crisis. The two leaders stressed the importance of arriving at an inclusive political solution that engages all components of the Syrian population and would preclude further repercussions of the crisis. 

King Abdullah emphasised the burdens borne by the Kingdom due to hosting the largest number of Syrian refugees, highlighting the requirements needed to provide undisrupted humanitarian services.

Jahjaga said she was looking forward to activating the various aspects of cooperation in order to build strong partnerships between the two countries.  

She commended Jordan’s historic stand in support of the people of Kosovo and their causes, especially their active participation in the peacekeeping forces there during the past years, noting that Jordan was one of the first countries to recognise Kosovo’s independence. 

Kosovo’s president commended Jordan’s efforts, led by His Majesty, to make peace in the Middle East and assist the Syrian refugees.  She also lauded the King’s efforts in clarifying the true image of Islam as well as his initiatives in this context, especially the Amman Message and the Common Word initiatives. 

Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour also met on Thursday with the visiting president. 

At the meeting, both sides stressed Jordan’s commitment to strengthening its relations with the Republic of Kosovo and to work on further joint cooperation. 

The premier highlighted the opportunities available for cooperation in the area of therapeutic tourism, in particular, as Jordan is among the top Arab countries in this domain. 

At the meeting, attended by Water and Irrigation Minister Hazem Nasser and Mohammad Momani, minister of state for media affairs and communications, who is also acting foreign minister, Jahjaga asserted her country’s desire to develop her country’s relations with Jordan. 

Kosovo’s president extended an invitation for the premier to visit her country to further discuss means to boost joint cooperation.