NATO officials praise Jordan, offer additional aid to the Kingdom

AMMAN — Deputising for His Majesty King Abdullah, Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi attended the meeting of the North Atlantic Council held on Thursday during a summit of heads of state and government at the NATO headquarters in Brussels.

Safadi conveyed His Majesty's greetings to NATO leaders, stressing the King's satisfaction with Jordan's partnership with the alliance and joint efforts to enhance security and stability in the region, a statement from the Foreign Affairs Ministry said.

He highlighted NATO's support for the Kingdom in building its defence capabilities, according to the statement, and asserted that Jordan would remain a trustworthy and strategic partner in the fight against terrorism and in realising peace, underscoring victories against Daesh in Syria and Iraq.

Speaking of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the minister stressed that it must be solved according to two-state solution, which leads to ending the Israeli occupation and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state within pre-1967 lines, with East Jerusalem as the capital.

He said that the absence of prospects for ending the Israeli occupation would only generate more violence that threatens the region, stressing the need for an effective international effort to resume the peace process.

The top diplomat outlined the pressure put on the Kingdom as a result of hosting 1.3 million Syrian refugees, urging the world to share the burden more fairly.

Safadi also joined the ministerial meeting of the Global Coalition to Defeat Daesh, which was held upon an invitation by the US, and attended by Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi.

He also participated in a meeting attended by the ministers of foreign affairs of the US, the UK, France, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and a representative of Germany’s foreign ministry.

The meeting was held to discuss prospects of reaching a political solution for the Syrian crisis on the basis of the Geneva Communiqué, which calls for a ceasefire and political settlement under UN resolution 2254. 

On the sidelines of NATO meetings, Safadi met with several counterparts and senior officials, including the EU High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini and The Union for the Mediterranean’s Secretary General Nasser Kamel.

“We are proud of Jordan as a partner of the alliance”, a senior NATO official said on Thursday, stressing the importance of “retaining” the Kingdom as the “cornerstone of security and stability” in the region, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

On the sidelines of the NATO summit at the alliance’s new headquarters in Brussels, the official noted that “Jordan is a unique partner in the region”. Another senior NATO official said that Jordan is “essential” to the alliance’s work in supporting security and stability in the region. 

The NATO summit has so far endorsed a new assistance package to Jordan and the Arab countries by offering military training, cybersecurity, de-mining and border security to face security challenges and counter terrorism.

The final communiqué of the summit agreed on providing additional support to Jordan.

The NATO’s 29th summit witnessed the participation of all the 29 NATO allies, 20 partner countries and representatives from the United Nations, the European Union, the World Bank and the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.