PM, Egyptian counterpart reaffirm ties

AMMAN — Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Bisher Al Khasawneh on Thursday held talks in Cairo with Egyptian Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly on means to strengthen bilateral relations in various fields and maintain coordination and communication to further enhance them.

During the discussions, the two prime ministers affirmed the "deep-rooted and brotherly" relations between Jordan and Egypt, which receive the attention of His Majesty King Abdullah and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The two premiers also noted the joint Jordanian-Egyptian position and coordination on issues of mutual interests to serve Arab causes, mainly the Palestinian cause, in a manner that guarantees establishment of an independent and viable sovereign Palestinian state on the June 4, 1967 lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital, in accordance with the two-state solution and in a way that achieves a comprehensive and just peace in the region and brings about security and stability.

On future bilateral action, Khasawneh and Madbouly agreed to hold meetings of the Joint Jordanian-Egyptian Higher Committee in its 29th session in Amman, in the coming weeks, and to convene coordination and preparatory talks in advance to cover various aspects of cooperation.

Moreover, the talks went over a number of cooperation aspects, such as energy, gas, electrical connectivity among others, in a way that achieves common interests.

They also stressed the importance of strengthening the trilateral Jordanian-Egyptian-Iraqi cooperation in all sectors, especially energy and trade, pointing to the importance of the outcomes of this collaboration to achieve mutual interests, and to form the basis for a broader Arab cooperation.

During the talks, Khasawneh emphasised the "historic and strategic" relations between Jordan and Egypt, and the keenness of His Majesty and President Sisi to give these ties lasting momentum to serve common interests.

Khasawneh referred to the mutual visits between King Abdullah and President Sisi, as well as coordination and permanent consultation, pointing to the importance of the Egyptian president's visit to Amman last month.

He also referred to the trilateral integration mechanism between Jordan, Egypt and Iraq and the possibility of expanding this cooperation to include other Arab states, and to be “a gateway of the Arab world to the world” in a way that serves Arab interests.

During the coming period, officials in the two countries' will exchange visits to coordinate and prepare for the work of the joint higher committee, given the importance of its outcomes to enhance bilateral cooperation, Khasawneh announced.

Highlighting the Egyptian expatriates’ contributions in Jordan, Khasawneh said they receive all attention, respect and appreciation.

For his part, Madbouly said that Egypt, like Jordan, is keen to boost cooperation at all levels.

The Egyptian premier also referred to trilateral integration and cooperation between Egypt, Jordan and Iraq, highlighting the significance of this mechanism and its positive outcomes on joint interests.

Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply Maha Al Ali and Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Hala Zawati reaffirmed the need to continue discussions and preparations to hold the meetings of the joint higher committee.