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AMMAN — Lower House will discuss with the government US Secretary of State John Kerry’s peace efforts in the region on Sunday amid expectations of a heated debate over the issue.

The discussion will start with the MPs presenting their point of views in connection to the plan and its implications on Jordan, and then the government will reply to the lawmakers’ remarks in the same session.

Parliamentary sources said that several MPs are expected to attack the plan and the government’s stand on it.

Last week, 10 deputies filed a petition calling on Lower House Speaker Atef Tarawneh to designate a session for a general discussion over the ongoing Middle East peace talks and outcomes of the US secretary of state’s visit to Jordan.

According to the signatories to the memo, the people’s representatives need to listen to the government’s point of view on the ramifications of Kerry’s expected peace plan on the Palestinian issue, Jordan’s interests and the region.

Kerry met with His Majesty King Abdullah and senior Jordanian officials this month. He provided his vision over a potential solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict that touches on final status issues, which lies at the core of Jordan’s strategic interests, as repeatedly put by officials.

However, Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour recently stressed that nothing was clear yet, explaining that Kerry was examining points of view of both the Palestinians and the Israelis, and is expected to come back with a detailed proposal for both sides. The premier advised against “jumping to conclusions” at this stage.

However, since the US diplomat’s regional tour this month, local observers and former senior officials have expressed concern over the possibility that the Middle East conflict will be resolved at the expense of Jordan, which might eventually become a “substitute homeland for the Palestinians”.

Senior officials have repeatedly said that Jordan will not accept any solution to the conflict that would compromise its strategic interests.

Earlier this month, King Abdullah met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and stressed that Jordan deems protecting its higher strategic interests a top priority, especially those pertaining to final status issues between Israel and Palestine.

In remarks to the media during his visit, Abbas said that Palestine will keep Jordan abreast of any developments in the peace negotiations.

AMMAN –– His Majesty King Abdullah will hold on February 14 a summit meeting with US President Barack Obama, during a working visit to the United States.

Talks, which will take place in California, will focus on the historic friendship and partnership between Jordan and the US, and ways to advance bilateral ties in a way that boosts efforts by the two leaderships to promote peace, prosperity and stability throughout the Middle East, a Royal Court statement said.

The summit will also address opportunities to strengthen US-Jordanian strategic partnership and means to advance political, economic and security cooperation between the two sides. Both leaders will also be consulting and coordinating stands on regional developments, especially the peace process between the Palestinians and the Israelis, and efforts exerted by US Secretary of State John Kerry in this regard, along with developments in Syria and the wider Middle East.

In addition to the summit meeting with President Obama, the King will meet in Washington, DC with key administration officials, US congressional leaders and committee members as well as representatives from US Islamic and Jewish organisations.

The visit will follow an official visit by His Majesty to Mexico, upon an invitation by President Enrique Peña Nieto. The King will discuss with the Mexican president and several political and economic leaders ways to strengthen relations in various fields, in addition to Middle East and global issues.

Meeting with Burns

King Abdullah on Wednesday stressed that Jordan’s top priority is safeguarding its higher strategic interests, especially those concerning final status issues.

During a meeting on Wednesday with US Deputy Secretary of State William Burns, the Monarch voiced Jordan’s full support to the US-brokered peace negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis that “should ultimately lead to the establishment of an independent and viable Palestinian state within the pre-1967 lines with East Jerusalem as its capital on the basis of the two-state solution and the Arab Peace Initiative”, according to a Royal Court statement.

On Syria, the King renewed Jordan’s “unaltered stance that calls for a comprehensive political solution to Syria’s crisis that can safeguard its territorial unity and end the suffering of its people”, highlighting in this regard the burdens on the Kingdom resulting from hosting the largest number of Syrian refugees.

Ways to enhance the Jordanian-US relations in all fields were also discussed during the meeting which was attended by Royal Court Chief Fayez Tarawneh, King’s Office Director Imad Fakhoury and US Ambassador to Jordan Stewart E. Jones.

AMMAN — Building inclusive societies for people with disabilities requires an action-oriented approach that engages all stakeholders, participants in a round-table discussion said on Tuesday.

During the event, held as part of the EU-funded programme “Inclusive Decisions for Equal and Accountable Society (IDEAS)”, they discussed possibilities and resources to ensure the integration of people with disabilities into society.

The three-year programme, which was launched in 2013, is implemented by the British Council in cooperation with the “I am a Human Society for Rights of People with Disabilities” to enhance the capabilities of civil society organisations’ (CSOs) role in partnering with the government to serve citizens with disabilities.

IDEAS is simultaneously being implemented in Jordan, Lebanon, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Ukraine.

As part of the project’s activities, participants from countries benefiting from the scheme prepared a framework for decision makers in their respective states to strengthen the ability of governments to recognise and address the needs of people with disabilities.

In addition, they organised workshops and an educational visit to the UK to learn about the best practices of inclusive decision making between the government and representatives of CSOs.

“We have to find the tools that enable us to make society… recognise the potential of individuals with disabilities… the media should tackle disabilities as a type of human diversity,” May Abu Hamdia, deputy director of the British Council, said during the discussion.

Alia Zureikat, the project’s counsellor, highlighted the initiative’s priorities, which include ensuring the involvement of people with disabilities in the decision-making process and eliminating obstacles hindering their full inclusion in society.

“Having a Lower House deputy with disability is an example of what the project aims to achieve,” said Zureikat, who is also director of the Higher Council for the Affairs of Persons with Disabilities’ communications and international relations department.

Meanwhile, Asia Yaghi, the president of the I am a Human Society, stressed that each country taking part in the scheme will work on its own priorities according to the needs of people with disabilities.

“We can seriously say we are doing very well in Jordan in terms of bridging the gap between the government and citizens with disabilities,” she said, adding that a toolkit will be prepared to train trainers on promoting inclusive decision making for authorities, CSOs and the media.

Participants at the round-table discussion represented the media, civil society and the government and drew up the final framework to take inclusive decisions that recognise the needs of people with disabilities.