AMMAN, 29 June 2007 — Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and King Abdallah of Jordan yesterday jointly opened a huge residential-city project named after the Saudi ruler as a mark of appreciation for his support to Jordan.
The function was held at the Basman Royal Palace in Amman. The residential project sprawls over an area of 21 square kilometers comprising 70,000 residential units with an ability to house over 370,000 people. Both kings watered an olive plant indicating the project’s formal opening, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
King Abdullah, who arrived in Jordan on a two-day visit on Wednesday, held talks on bilateral ties and regional issues with focus on developments in Palestine, Lebanon and Iraq. Amman is the last stop in King Abdullah’s six-nation tour, which took him to Morocco, Spain, France, Poland and Egypt.
Saudi Ambassador in Amman Abdul Rahman Ohali said King Abdullah’s first visit to Jordan since ascending the throne “acquires added importance as it comes at a time when the Arab and Muslim nations are facing major challenges,” the Jordanian news agency, Petra, reported.
A Jordanian Royal Court official underlined the importance of the visit in view of “Saudi Arabia’s significant role in the region, the very close ties between the two brotherly countries and the potential for enhancing them at all levels.”
The discussions are expected to revive the Middle East peace process in line with the 2002 Arab peace initiative, which received a fresh boost by the Riyadh Arab summit in March. In fact, there is no area in the Middle East where Saudi Arabia’s diplomacy is not at work to bring about lasting peace in the region. It was King Abdullah’s efforts that made Hamas and Fatah leaders sign the Makkah Agreement on Feb. 8, which was aimed at stopping a civil war between the two groups. Saudi Arabia is also striving to restore stability in Lebanon and end the continuing Iraqi crisis.
The Jordanian business community welcomed Abdullah’s visit to their country. Chairman of Jordan’s Chamber of Industry Hatem Halawani said that the trip is likely to reflect positively on Jordan’s industrial sector. “We expect the visit to boost Saudi investments in Jordan and hope that joint projects between the private sectors in both countries will be implemented as a result of the visit,” Halawani said.
He added that Saudi investments in Jordan exceeded 850 million Jordanian dinars at the end of the first five months of this year, while in 2006 Saudi investments in Jordan represented 31 percent of the total number of projects in the country. According to a survey by the Jordanian-Saudi Economic Forum in April, joint ventures in Saudi Arabia stood at $787 million, with the Jordanian share constituting 33.4 percent.
Saudi Arabia is also the sixth largest market for Jordanian exports, and is among the eight major sources for Jordan’s imports, former Chairman of the Amman chamber of Commerce Othman Bodeir said in a press statement.
The Jordan Investment Board is also planning to open an office in Riyadh to boost the volume of Saudi investments in Jordan. Not taking oil exports into account, the Saudi-Jordanian commercial volume in 2006 totaled around $906 million, the statement added. Saudi Minister of Culture and Information Iyad Madani and Jordanian Minister of Culture Adel Toweisi expressed their keenness to promote cultural relations and encourage cultural exchange between the two countries in a meeting between the two ministers in Amman yesterday.
After completing his current foreign tour, King Abdullah arrived in Jeddah yesterday afternoon. Crown Prince Sultan, deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation and other dignitaries received Abdullah at the King Abdul Aziz International Airport.
