Jordan, Palestine sign five deals to promote partnership

AMMAN — Jordan and Palestine on Wednesday signed five memoranda of understanding and executive programmes in the energy, education, health, roads, bridges, buildings, housing, tenders and social development sectors. 

The deals were signed at the conclusion of of 5th meeting of the Joint Jordanian-Palestinian Higher Committee that was co-chaired by Prime Minister Hani Mulki and his Palestinian counterpart Rami Hamdallah, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Mulki said that the Jordanian diplomacy has always put Palestine at the top of its priorities in regional and international events.

The premier added that the gathering aimed at further cooperation at all levels, to serve mutual interests and strengthen economic and trade relations.

Jordan has always believed that the core conflict in the region is the Palestinian issue, and that the region will not enjoy security and stability without a just, permanent and comprehensive solution to the conflict in accordance with international legitimacy resolutions, he stressed.

Mulki reaffirmed that the Kingdom's clear vision promoted by His Majesty King Abdullah and addressed at various international events, under the Hashemite Custodianship over Muslim and Christian sites in Jerusalem — will not ever change in terms of the right of Palestinians to establish their independent state on all territories occupied in 1967.

The prime minister also referred to His Majesty's recent visit to New York, where the King continued Jordanian efforts to revive the peace process, especially in his meeting with US President Donald Trump, who renewed his administration's commitment to pushing forward the peace process.

Meanwhile, Mulki expressed hope that the committee meeting would stimulate increased trade exchange between the two sides, which stood at $176 million in 2016 and $90 million in the first half of 2017.

For his part, Hamdallah reviewed the burdens facing his government’s institutional and development work, in addition to the humanitarian suffering of the Palestinians as a result of Israeli practices, Petra added.

Under these circumstances — a military occupation and a 70 per cent drop in foreign assistance — the Palestinian government has been working on maximising the benefits of local resources and rationalising expenditure and the use of available resources, he noted.

The prime minister said that Palestinians still count on the Jordanian official and popular support to help retrieve the Palestinian rights and achieve their aspirations to establish their independent state.

Attendees of the meetings also stressed the need to complete joint projects that interest both countries, the most important of which are the Red Sea-Dead Sea Water Conveyance Project and the Japanese initiative “Corridor for Peace and Prosperity” that seeks to enhance development and peace efforts.

Industry, Trade and Supply Minister Yarub Qudah, who co-chaired Tuesday’s meetings of the preparatory committee of the Joint Jordanian-Palestinian Higher Committee with Palestinian Economy Minister Abeer Odeh, said that the two sides exhibited a high degree of “determination” to take cooperation to a new level.

He said they agreed to do more to encourage the private sector to increase their investments, with the Palestinians expressing interest in benefiting from Jordan’s experience in industrial estates.

He added that an agreement was reached to establish a joint company to organise the transport of Palestinian Hajj and umra pilgrims, in addition to establishing another joint company to market agricultural produce.

Meanwhile, Odeh said that both sides agreed on plans to oversee the implementation of the signed agreements, noting that there were other agreements that were discussed and waiting to be signed in the near future.

She expressed hope that there would be positive results before the next meeting of the committee, Petra added.

Several ministers, officials and private sector representatives from both countries attended the meetings.