AMMAN, 6 October 2004 — King Abdallah conferred yesterday with visiting Iraqi Interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi and assured him of Jordan’s “total support” as well as backing for the conduction of Iraqi general elections as scheduled in January, according to an official statement. “The king reiterated Jordan’s total support for the interim Iraqi government’s efforts aimed at rebuilding the country and its institutions and bolstering Iraq’s territorial integrity,” the statement from the Royal Court said.
“The monarch also pledged Jordan’s commitment to the restoration of stability and security in Iraq with a view to ending the state of anarchy and violence there and ensuring the general elections be held as scheduled in all Iraqi provinces and with the participation of all Iraqis,” it added.
The remark is tantamount to Jordan’s rejection of the postponement of the polls or conducting the ballot process in some of Iraq’s provinces as envisaged by US officials. Abdallah also pledged continuation of “coordination and consultations between the two countries”, the statement said.
On his part, Allawi “briefed the monarch on efforts being exerted by his government to overcome obstacles facing Iraq”, it added. The Iraqi prime minister arrived in Amman on Saturday night and a senior official told Arab News he was in Jordan on a “private visit”, but gave no further details as to the purpose of the trip, Allawi’s second visit to the country since he took up his past at the end of June.
