King meets heads of state, senior officials on UNGA sidelines

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Monday held separate meetings with heads of state attending the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

His Majesty met with Cyprus President Nikos Christodoulides, Finland President Alexander Stubb, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Belgium Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, and US Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo, according to a Royal Court statement.

During the meetings, His Majesty stressed that escalation in the region requires urgent and unified international efforts to de-escalate and avoid a spillover of the conflict, noting the importance of stopping the Israeli war on Lebanon.

The King reiterated the need to reach an immediate and lasting ceasefire in Gaza as a basic requirement to stop escalation in the region, calling for increasing the flow of humanitarian aid to the Strip, the statement added.

His Majesty warned of the continued Israeli attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank and violations of Muslim and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, noting that the region will remain hostage to violence and instability unless a political horizon is created to achieve just and comprehensive peace on the basis of the two-state solution.

The meetings also covered the latest regional and international developments, as well as ways to enhance cooperation across various sectors, according to the statement.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, Director of the Office of His Majesty Alaa Batayneh, Planning Minister Zeina Toukan, and Jordan’s Ambassador in Washington, DC, Dina Kawar attended the meetings.