‘Jordan looks to boost cooperation with South American countries’

AMMAN — Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh on Monday participated in the meeting of Arab and South American foreign ministers in Riyadh, held in preparation for Tuesday's Fourth Summit of South American-Arab Countries.

At the meeting, Judeh highlighted Jordan's and the Arab world's interest in enhancing relations with South American countries, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

He cited His Majesty King Abdullah's visits to several South American countries over the past years and his participation in the Arab-Latin American summit in Lima, Peru in 2012.

The foreign minister said Arab relations with South American countries have achieved a significant "leap" since an institutional framework for cooperation was launched in 2005.

In the same context, Judeh said the volume of commercial exchange between Arab and South American countries rose from $6 billion in 2005 to $30 billion in 2014.

He stressed the importance of enhancing cultural, tourism, economic and investment relations between the two sides, in addition to enhancing political coordination in light of the mutual challenges and threats, Petra reported.

Judeh highlighted the topics of the Riyadh forum to be adopted after Tuesday's summit, particularly those related to peace efforts to establish an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital within the June 4, 1967 lines, based on relevant international references and the Arab Peace Initiative.

He stressed the importance of a political solution that guarantees the security and the territorial integrity of Syria, with the participation of all components of Syrian society, in accordance with the Geneva I communique.

The foreign minister talked about the repercussions of the Syrian crisis and the refugee burden carried by Jordan, also touching on issues related to anti-terrorism efforts.

In addition, he stressed the need to implement UN Security Council Resolution 2216 which calls for supporting the legitimate government in Yemen.

Judeh also attended an emergency meeting of Arab ministers to discuss Israeli escalations in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The deputy premier reaffirmed Jordan’s custodianship of Islamic and Christian sites in Jerusalem and stressed that the Kingdom will pursue all diplomatic and legal options to deal with any violations of these sites.