King, France president hold talks in Amman

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah and France President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday held talks at Al Husseiniya Palace, covering bilateral ties and the latest regional and international developments.

At bilateral talks that were followed by an expanded meeting attended by HRH Crown Prince Hussein, the two leaders stressed the deep-rooted ties of friendship between Jordan and France, as well as keenness to advance them further, according to a Royal Court statement.

Speaking at the beginning of the expanded meeting, King Abdullah noted the warm and historical bilateral relationship, adding, “I only see that the relationship between our two countries is growing by leaps and bounds and I wanted to thank your leadership for that and how you help us".

Referring to the second Baghdad Conference for Cooperation and Partnership held at the Dead Sea, His Majesty said, “I very much appreciated your support for the Baghdad II conference yesterday, which I think went very successfully as we broke many boundaries to be able to move forward.”

“We look at France as an integral part of our history in the region,” the King continued, adding, “This is an amazing relationship that we have always had with France politically, more so militarily, unfortunately because of issues in our region.”

His Majesty said discussions with President Macron address the challenges in Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon, as well as the Palestinian cause, noting that the French president’s “role in being able to focus on the issues and the challenges that we have has been of tremendous help”.

For his part, President Macron stressed the importance of France’s cooperation with Jordan and the outcomes of his talks with the King, highlighting the meetings held on the sidelines of the Baghdad conference.

“I think the bilateral relations are delivering great results and we want to do more,” he said, expressing France’s desire to support Jordan’s projects and what is important for the Jordanian people.

“Your role in the region and our cooperation and critical issues for peace and stability in the whole region are absolutely essential to us,” President Macron said, describing Jordan and His Majesty as “very clear partners, allies, and friends in the region for us.”

The French president described the second Baghdad conference as a success, commending Jordan and the King for their “convening power and the ability to gather all these countries around the table and then sharing the same agenda, framing the discussion in the region and supporting Iraqi sovereignty and the different prospects”.

“I want to thank you and congratulate you because I think it was not a done deal, and a few months ago all of the people probably doubted the collective ability to organise such a conference, and you did it, so thank you very much,” President Macron added.

At the talks, His Majesty thanked France for providing development support for Jordan across various sectors, expressing the Kingdom’s keenness to expand economic cooperation with France.

The King also commended France and the European Union for supporting peace efforts on the basis of the two-state solution, stressing that Jordan continues to undertake efforts to safeguard Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, under the Hashemite Custodianship.

His Majesty stressed the importance of maintaining support for refugees and UNRWA.

The talks also covered international developments and challenges, including ways to cooperate in ensuring food security and mitigating the impact of climate change, while maintaining efforts to counter terrorism within a holistic approach.

Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, Director of the Office of His Majesty Jafar Hassan, Jordan’s Ambassador to France Makram Queisi, and senior French officials accompanying President Macron attended the talks.

Earlier, an official welcoming ceremony was held at Al Husseiniya Palace for President Macron, who later concluded his visit to Jordan.

The French president had arrived in the Kingdom on Tuesday to participate in the Baghdad conference at the Dead Sea.