King meets world leaders in Paris

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah and French President Emmanuel Macron, at the Élysée Palace on Wednesday, discussed ways to enhance strategic cooperation between Jordan and France, as well as the latest regional developments, a Royal Court statement said.

President Macron expressed appreciation for Jordan’s efforts, led by King Abdullah, to counter extremist ideology and hate speech, and seek regional and global peace and security, expressing France’s interest in supporting the Aqaba Process and maintaining coordination in this regard.

During the meeting, held on the sidelines of the Christchurch Call to Action to Eliminate Terrorist and Violent Extremist Content Online, His Majesty expressed appreciation for France’s support for development programmes in Jordan, stressing the Kingdom’s keenness to advance economic, investment and trade cooperation with France.

Discussions covered the latest regional developments, foremost of which is the peace process, with the King stressing the need to step up international efforts to achieve just and lasting peace based on the two-state solution, guaranteeing the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the June 4, 1967 lines with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Efforts to counter extremist ideology and terrorism within a holistic approach were also discussed.

His Majesty thanked President Macron for hosting the Christchurch Call to Action to Eliminate Terrorist and Violent Extremist Content Online.

Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and Adviser to His Majesty for Communication and Coordination Bisher Al Khasawneh attended the meeting.

Also while in Paris, King Abdullah discussed on Wednesday with British Prime Minister Theresa May opportunities to expand cooperation between Jordan and the United Kingdom, as well as regional developments.

During the meeting, King Abdullah thanked the United Kingdom for supporting Jordan and for hosting the “Jordan: Growth and Opportunity — the London Initiative 2019”, this year to support Jordan’s economy.

Discussions covered developments related to the peace process, with His Majesty stressing that the two-state solution that guarantees the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the June 4, 1967 lines with East Jerusalem as its capital is the only way to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Prime Minister May expressed appreciation for Jordan’s efforts, led by the King, to hold the Aqaba Process meetings, as His Majesty stressed the need to step up efforts by governments and global tech companies to counter hate speech and support initiatives in this regard.

Discussions also addressed regional crises, especially the Syrian crisis and efforts to reach a political solution.

His Majesty also met with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Paris on Wednesday, with talks focused on the deep-rooted ties of friendship between the two countries, as well as regional developments.

The discussions, held on the sidelines of the high-level meeting on the Christchurch Call to Action to Eliminate Terrorist and Violent Extremist Content Online, King Abdullah expressed his appreciation to Canada for its ongoing support for Jordan.

In remarks at the top of the meeting, His Majesty said Jordan and Canada have a shared history that goes back many decades.

“Canada has been a voice of reason and common sense for the challenges that we have in our part of the world, and I think this is what has allowed us to work so well together,” the King said.

“In the past couple of months we have, I think, identified other hurdles and obstacles we need to overcome, and I am absolutely convinced that with our relationship between our two countries, we will find a glass-half-full solution to all the challenges that we have,” His Majesty added.

For his part, Prime Minister Trudeau said the meeting is “an opportunity to continue these conversations we’ve been having over many years now on a broad range of issues, but mostly on how we’re going to work together to promote a more peaceful, more open, more stable, more understanding world.”

Prime Minister Trudeau commended the King’s “leadership on bridging diversity and bringing people together, as we continue today in the tech sector to counter radicalisation.”

“This is something that I value so much — an opportunity to continue to sit down with you and talk about how we are going to work together to build a better world,” he added.

The peace process topped the issues discussed between the King and the Canadian prime minister, with His Majesty stressing the need to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict based on the two-state solution, leading to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the June 4, 1967 lines with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Discussions also covered cooperation and coordination between Jordan and Canada in countering terrorism and extremism as part of the framework of international efforts to counter terrorism within a holistic approach. The King noted Canada’s important role in this regard.

His Majesty called for unifying efforts by governments and global tech companies and maintaining coordination on various initiatives to counter hate speech and work to promote the values of tolerance and dialogue.

The King pointed to the importance of the Aqaba Process meetings, which aim to enhance security and military coordination and cooperation, as well as exchanging expertise and information among regional and international stakeholders to counter terrorism.

Discussing the Syrian crisis, His Majesty reaffirmed the importance of reaching a political solution that preserves the territorial integrity of Syria and the unity of its people, while ensuring the safe return of refugees.

Earlier in the day, His Majesty met with New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Wednesday in Paris and discussed ways to bolster cooperation between Jordan and New Zealand in various areas.

During the meeting, held ahead of a roundtable discussion co-chaired by King Abdullah and Prime Minister Ardern with representatives of global tech companies on countering terrorist and extremist content online, talks covered the importance of coordinating efforts between the two countries in combating the threat of terrorism, extremism and hate speech, according to a Royal Court statement.

Discussions at the meeting addressed Jordan’s efforts to counter terrorist and extremist ideologies within a holistic approach, including the Aqaba Process.

The meeting, attended by HRH Prince Ghazi, His Majesty’s chief adviser for religious and cultural affairs and personal envoy, tackled the Aqaba Process round hosted by the US in partnership with Jordan in February.

The meetings saw the participation of officials from a number of countries, as well as representatives of international organisations and global tech companies, with discussions covering the security threats related to the exploitation of the Internet and technology by terrorists and extremists to spread hate speech and extremist ideologies, according to the statement.

Prime Minister Ardern expressed her appreciation for Jordan’s immense efforts, led by His Majesty, in combating extremist ideology, promoting the values of tolerance and peace, and seeking stability in the region and the world.

The King commended the prime minister’s exemplary leadership in dealing with the aftermath of the Christchurch terrorist attack, which targeted two mosques in the New Zealand city in March, expressing appreciation for the care provided by the government of New Zealand for the Jordanians injured there.

The King also met with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker over ways to bolster political, economic and trade cooperation between Jordan and the European Union, the statement added.

During the meeting, held on the sidelines of the high-level meeting on the Christchurch Call to Action to Eliminate Terrorist and Violent Extremist Content Online, King Abdullah expressed appreciation for the EU’s support for Jordan in vital sectors.

Discussions at the meeting, also attended by Prince Ghazi, covered the importance of Jordan-EU agreements, particularly in the areas of development and economic cooperation.

His Majesty emphasised the importance of utilising these agreements to support Jordan’s efforts towards economic growth and job creation.

Discussing the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the King stressed the need to reach a just and lasting peace based on the two-state solution that would lead to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the June 4, 1967 lines with East Jerusalem as its capital, noting the importance of the European role in this regard, according to the Royal Court.

The meeting also covered regional crises, especially the Syrian crisis and efforts to reach a political solution that preserves Syria’s territorial integrity and the unity of its people.

Safadi and Khasawneh attended the meetings.