AMMAN —
Spanish Ambassador Miguel de Lucas described his country’s ties with Jordan as
“historical and solid”, and backed by the close relations of the two countries’
royal families, according to the Jordan News Agency, Petra.
اضافة اعلان
In an interview
with Petra on Tuesday, on the eve of the National Day of Spain, which falls on
October 12, Lucas said that Jordan and Spain see eye-to-eye on all regional and
global political issues.
He pointed to the
expansion of ties in recent years into fields such as defense and security,
development aid, and cultural cooperation thanks to a consistent exchange of
visits.
A year ago, he
said, a new phase of Jordanian-Spanish cooperation started after the signing of
the first partnership agreement, which lays out the basics, priorities,
collaborations, resources, and tools to implement Spanish-Jordanian cooperation
programs for the 2022–2024 period.
Priorities stated
in the partnership agreement help maintain programs and sectors determined in
an action plan put in place in recent years, which is concerned with structural
reform in social protection, health, water, and sewage sectors, he maintained.
From 2017–2021,
development aid offered by the Spanish Agency for International Development
Cooperation totaled 26 million euros, in addition to another equal contribution
from the Spanish General State Budget and the European Union’s funds, the envoy
noted.
He emphasized that
Jordan and Spain agree on the need to fight extremism affecting coexistence in
societies, describing terrorism as “one of the most brutal forms of extremism.”
He called for focusing on education to spread dialogue and moderate values,
which, in turn, help prevent the spread of terrorism.
Going over economic
cooperation, he said Spain’s imports from Jordan between January and July this
year amounted to $62 million, up 74 percent compared with the same period of
2021. Exports to Jordan totaled $233 million, a 34 percent increase.
Spanish imports
from Jordan, he explained, were mainly fertilizers, non-organic chemicals, and
aluminum. Exports to Jordan included ceramics, tiles, panels, sheep, goats,
oils, perfumes, seeds, and electrical appliances, noting that trade ties are
growing at a “good pace.”
The envoy said the
number of Spanish tourists visiting Jordan in 2021 reached 7,000, down 82
percent from the 41,800 recorded in 2019. But in the first six months of this
year, Jordan welcomed 13,000 Spanish tourists, which is less than the
pre-pandemic figures, he said.
“Our goal is to reach, and even exceed the pre-pandemic
numbers,” he said.
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