King returns home after New York visit

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah returned to Jordan on Thursday after a working visit to New York, where His Majesty, accompanied by HRH Crown Prince Hussein, headed Jordan’s delegation at the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly, according to a Royal Court statement.

King Abdullah delivered a speech before the General Assembly, reaffirming that the two-state solution is the only genuine solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

In the speech, His Majesty also stressed the need for collective action to resolve the crises facing the region and the world, including displacement, terrorism and extremism as well as climate change.

During the visit to New York, the King also held a trilateral summit with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi and Iraqi President Barham Saleh.

The talks focused on expanding economic, trade and investment cooperation.

His Majesty participated in the Leaders Dialogue: Strategic Responses to Terrorist and Violent Extremist Narratives, organised by Jordan in cooperation with the UN, France and New Zealand.

Speaking at the meeting, attended by HRH Prince Ghazi, His Majesty’s chief adviser for religious and cultural affairs and personal envoy, the King warned of the complexity of the challenge of countering extremism and terrorism online and offline, stressing the importance of a holistic approach.

In an interview with US cable TV news network MSNBC, owned by NBCUniversal, His Majesty reiterated that the two-state solution is the only means of ending the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, warning that a one-state solution means an apartheid future for Israel, which would be catastrophic.

In the interview, conducted by NBC News Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent Andrea Mitchell, the King touched on a number of regional issues, in addition to the burden on Jordan’s economy as a result of the Syrian refugee crisis.

On the sidelines of the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly, His Majesty also met with several heads of states and delegations and a number of representatives of international organisations.