King receives letter from Omani Sultan

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Thursday received Omani Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Yousef Bin Alawi, who delivered a letter from Sultan Qaboos of Oman, according to a Royal Court statement.

His Majesty “expressed his pride in the brotherly and historical ties between the two countries and stressed his keenness on furthering these relations for the best interest of the two countries, and to serve the Arab and Islamic nations”, the statement said.

Talks focused on ongoing coordination and consultation over issues of mutual interest.

They also discussed developments in the Palestinian cause, reiterating the necessity of relaunching peace negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis based on the two-state solution, which leads to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

The regional crises were also tackled, focusing on intensifying the exerted efforts to find political solutions that restore security and stability.

His Majesty sent his greetings to Sultan Qaboos, expressing his sincere wishes of progress and prosperity for Oman.

This is the second visit to Amman by Bin Alawi in a week. Last Wednesday, he met with Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ayman Safadi over the Mideast peace push as Muscat has recently stepped-up its engagement in the issue.

The Omani foreign minister was on a brief visit to the Kingdom, coming from Ramallah where he met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, a ministry statement said.

The meeting came days after a “surprise visit” by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the previous week to Muscat.

Safadi, along with Adviser to the King and Director of His Majesty’s Office Manar Dabbas and Omani Ambassador to Jordan Khamis Farisi, attended the meeting.

His Majesty also received on Tuesday Deputy Commander of the US Central Command Thomas Bergeson, according to another Royal Court statement. The talks covered aspects of Jordanian-US military cooperation, as well as the regional and international counter terrorism efforts within a holistic strategy.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Lt. Gen. Mahmoud Freihat and US Chargé d’Affaires Henry Wooster attended the meeting.

Freihat met separately with Bergeson and the accompanying delegation on Tuesday. They went over the latest regional and international developments, in addition to mutual military cooperation and coordination, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.