King arrives home from milestone US visit

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah returned home on Monday after concluding a working visit to the US during which he held a summit meeting with President Barack Obama and met with several senior officials, Congress leaders and representatives of congressional committees.  

The King also met with representatives of intellectual, academic and research institutions in Washington. 

During a summit meeting with the US president, King Abdullah and Obama discussed ways to strengthen Jordanian-US cooperation in various fields, according to a Royal Court statement.

The two leaders also addressed regional issues, especially regarding the Syrian and the Iraqi issues, the international community’s efforts in confronting terrorist groups, and efforts seeking to achieve peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis. 

The summit meeting was followed by announcing the renewal of a grant deal worth $1 billion annually for another three years.

Washington also agreed to issue a third loan guarantee, which allows Jordan to borrow from international financiers at low interest rates.

In joint statements to the press, after the summit meeting, King Abdullah thanked the US for its support to Jordan, especially since it comes at a critical time while the Kingdom is hosting around one-and-a-half million Syrians. 

Furthermore, King Abdullah met with US Vice President Joe Biden and discussed ways to develop relations between the two countries, as well as regional developments, especially efforts to achieve Middle East peace, on the basis of the two-state solution.

As part of his meetings with US congressmen, King Abdullah met with Speaker of the US House of Representatives John Boehner, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Ed Royce and committee members, and leaders of the House Democratic minority headed by Nancy Pelosi.

The King held meetings with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State Department, Foreign Operations and Related Programmes Patrick Leahy and committee members, Chairperson of the State and Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee in the House of Representatives Kay Granger and Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Robert Menendez.

His Majesty also met with House of Representatives Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Howard Buck McKeon and Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, according to the Royal Court.

The King also met with US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew in Washington and discussed ways to boost cooperation between the two countries in economic and financial areas. 

At his meeting with intellectual leaders in Washington, the Monarch highlighted regional developments and his perspective, especially regarding the war on terrorism and the terror threat.

In an interview with Charlie Rose for PBS, CBS and Bloomberg networks, the Monarch stressed the importance of finding a comprehensive strategic approach to deal with terrorist organisations which share the same ideology despite having different names.

The King said: “The war against terrorism is our war in the region; it is a problem related to Muslims in the first place, and we have to take the initiative and work within this framework.”