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,
a Royal Court statement said.
The bilateral talks 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.
اضافة اعلان
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”.
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 organize 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 BisherAl-Khasawneh, Deputy Prime Minister and
Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, Director of the Office of His Majesty Jafar
Hassan, Jordan’s Ambassador to France MakramQueisi, 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.
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