LONDON: French president Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, welcomed Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Queen Rania to the Elysee Palace in Paris on Wednesday.
The king was in the city as part of an official visit, the Royal Hashemite Court reported, and Crown Prince Hussein accompanied his parents.
The king and Macron held a meeting at the palace that also included the crown prince, Deputy Prime Minister Ayman Safadi, the king’s Chief of Staff Jafar Hassan, and the Jordanian ambassador to France, Makram Queisi. They discussed bilateral relations and their desire to expand political, economic and defense cooperation.
King Abdullah praised France for its assistance to Jordan in development projects, and its role in combating threats to global food security. He reaffirmed Jordan’s willingness to work with European countries to improve food security through the EU’s FARM (Food and Agriculture Resilience Mission) initiative, which aims to boost agricultural production.
The two sides reviewed regional and international developments and agreed to maintain coordination and consultation on issues of mutual importance.
Regarding the Palestinian cause, King Abdullah emphasized the importance of achieving a just and comprehensive peace based on a two-state solution that establishes an independent Palestinian state based on June 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
The king praised France and the EU for their support of the two-state solution and reaffirmed the importance of including Palestinians in regional economic projects. He added that ongoing unilateral actions by Israeli authorities undermine the prospects for peace and further plunge the region into violence.
He also emphasized the importance of reaching a political solution to the Syrian crisis that protects the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the country while ensuring the safe return of refugees, as well as the importance of maintaining the security and stability of Iraq.
The leaders discussed the situation in Lebanon and the king called for continuing efforts to ensure the country’s stability. Other topics included regional and international efforts to combat terrorism in a comprehensive manner.
Macron praised Jordan for its role in promoting regional peace, and global security and stability. He said France is eager to strengthen its friendship with Jordan and maintain close coordination in the service of mutual interests.
The crown prince announced his engagement to Saudi national Rajwa Khaled bin Musaed bin Saif bin Abdulaziz Al-Saif last month.
