Regent discusses ties with German Bundesrat’s president

AMMAN — HRH Prince Feisal, the Regent, on Monday met with President of the Bundesrat (German Federal Council) Michael Muller, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

During the meeting, the prince and Muller discussed the strategic Amman-Berlin relations in all fields, as well as the latest regional developments.

The prince expressed Jordan's appreciation for the German assistance to implement development programmes and address various challenges facing the Kingdom. 

The meeting, attended by acting Senate President Marouf Bakhit, covered efforts to resume peace negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis on the basis of the two-state solution that can lead to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

For his part, Muller stressed his country's respect for Jordanian efforts to achieve peace and stability in the Middle East and the resource-limited Kingdom's humanitarian role in hosting Syrian refugees, Petra reported.

Bundesrat is a legislative body that is involved in the enactment of legislations and represents Germany’s 16 states.

On Monday, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Prime Ministry Affairs Jamal Sarayreh met with Muller and the accompanying delegation.

During the meeting, attended by German Ambassador to Jordan, Birgitta Maria Siefker-Eberle, Sarayreh outlined the challenges facing Jordan due to regional turmoil.

The minister stressed that hosting several waves of refugees, the last of which stood at 1.3 million Syrians, has aggravated those challenges, especially with regards to the economy.

For his part, the German official stressed that a solution to Syria’s ongoing war requires involvement from the world’s great powers, emphasising the urgency to end the large-scale suffering of the Syrian people. 

Meanwhile, Muller met with Planning and International Cooperation Minister Imad Fakhoury over collaboration to keep up the momentum of the international support to the Kingdom.

Fakhoury and Muller agreed to “unify” the two countries’ positions during the upcoming Brussels conference on refugees to be held April 24-25, a Planning Ministry statement said.

The minister stressed the importance of revisiting the EU’s decision to simplify the rules of origin for Jordanian exports to EU countries in line, with the Kingdom’s plans to support Jordanian industrialists, attract investments and create jobs.

He briefed Muller on progress made in implementing the Jordan Compact adopted, during the 2016 London conference to support refugee hosting countries.