Amman: Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, met on Tuesday with Ayman Al Safadi, Jordan's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, as part of his official visit to Jordan.
The two sides held talks at the Jordanian Foreign Ministry headquarters, emphasising the fraternal ties between the UAE and Jordan, adding that these ties are moving steadily towards wider horizons of cooperation and coordination across political, economic and defence sectors, under the direction of the nations' leadership.
Shaikh Abdullah and Al Safadi said that the UAE and Jordan will continue to take all necessary measures to further strengthen and develop relations, reflecting the interests of both countries and their peoples.
The Jordanian Minister expressed his appreciation of the UAE's support to Jordan across its economic and development arenas.
The two sides also reviewed progress made on the implementation of cooperation agreements signed between the two countries during the Joint Committee meetings held in Abu Dhabi in 2017.
They also exchanged views on regional developments, particularly those related to the issue of Palestine and the crisis in Syria. Shaikh Abdullah and Al Safadi stressed the importance of resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on the basis of the two-state solution, which guarantees the establishment of an independent Palestinian state based on pre-1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as its capital, to achieve a comprehensive and lasting peace in the region.
The two sides warned of the consequences of Israel's continued unilateral actions that undermine the two-state solution and try to impose new realities on the ground, especially in occupied Jerusalem, altering the status of its holy sites.
Al Safadi then briefed Shaikh Abdullah on the latest developments in preparation for extraordinary ministerial conference co-chaired by Jordan, Egypt and Sweden, to secure the financial means that UNRWA needs to fulfil its important mandate, pending a peaceful and just solution to the Middle East conflict.
Concerning the Syrian crisis, the two sides reaffirmed that there is no military solution to the crisis and that there is a need to support efforts towards obtaining a peaceful political solution to the conflict via the Geneva Process, according to UNSC Resolution 2254. The Foreign Ministers stressed the importance behind the immediate implementation of UNSC Resolution 2401, that demands all parties to Syria's seven-year-long conflict to cease hostilities without delay for at least 30 consecutive days, enabling weekly humanitarian aid deliveries and medical evacuations of the critically sick and wounded in areas under siege.
They also covered the issue of Syrian refugees, where Al Safadi noted that Jordan currently hosts 1.3 million Syrian refugees, with ten percent residing in refugee camps. He went on to say that despite the pressures placed on the education, health and infrastructure sectors, Jordan continues to carry out its humanitarian duty towards its Syrian brothers.
Shaikh Abdullah and Al Safadi also reviewed regional issues of mutual concerning, emphasising the need for regional parties to halt their interference in the affairs of Arab states, based on the principles of non-interference and maintaining good neighbourly relations according to international standards.
Al Safadi reiterated UAE's sovereignty over its three islands of Greater and Lesser Tunbs and Abu Musa, and reiterated its support for all peaceful means and measures taken by the UAE to restore its sovereignty over the occupied islands.
The meeting was attended by Mattar Saif Sulaiman Al Shamsi, UAE Ambassador to Jordan, and Abdullah Matar Al Mazroui, Director of the Arab Affairs Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
