Jordan-Palestine relations gain momentum with high-level visit

AMMAN — Jordan and Palestine on Sunday discussed means to enhance bilateral ties in various fields.

Discussions came on the sidelines of the meetings of the Jordanian-Palestinian Higher Committee meetings, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

A meeting between Minister of State for Prime Ministry Affairs Sami Daoud and Palestinian Secretary General of the Council of Ministers Amjad Ghanem focused on benefitting from the Jordanian expertise in the government decision making, the work process of the Prime Ministry and coordination among public sector departments.

Daoud reviewed the recently implemented procedures by the government to enhance institutional performance.

Ghanem praised the Jordanian expertise in these fields and expressed interest to benefit from it.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Saad Jaber and his Palestinian counterpart Mai Alkaila agreed to sign a memorandum of understanding for health cooperation.

Jaber said that the Kingdom has implemented several procedures to receive Palestinian patients and follow up on their condition, according to Petra.

Alkaila expressed her appreciation for the Kingdom’s continuous support to Palestine, especially at the health level.

Also on Sunday, Transport Minister Anmar Khasawneh and his Palestinian counterpart Asem Salem discussed several issues relating to facilitating the transport of passengers and goods, so as to develop economic ties, according to Petra. 

Meanwhile, Minister of Agriculture and Environment Ibrahim Shahahdeh met with his Palestinian counterpart Riyad Atari and an accompanying delegation to explore bilateral cooperation in relevant fields. 

During the meeting, the two sides stressed the importance of boosting support to the agricultural sector in an effort to empower the Palestinian people and develop rural areas, in addition to agreeing to exchange lists of tradable products according to the needs of the Palestinian market.

On the same day, Jordan Customs Department (JCD) Director General Abdelmajid Rahamneh met with his Palestinian counterpart Louay Hanash to discuss matters of mutual interest. 

During the meeting, Rahamneh briefed Hanash on the JCD’s methods in increasing the efficiency of its operations, the single window programme, the electronic tracking system and anti-smuggling efforts, Petra added. 

The King Abdullah II Centre for Excellence and the Palestinian Cabinet’s General Secretariat signed an agreement to enhance cooperation in the field of public sector institutional and employee performance development.

The four-year agreement aims to help the Palestinian side develop models of excellence and evaluation criteria based on benchmark practices, in addition to setting an assessment framework for institutional performance, Petra reported.