King meets Finnish president in Germany

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Thursday met with President of the Republic of Finland Sauli Niinistö in Aachen, Germany, over bilateral relations and ways to develop them at all levels.

The meeting took place on the sidelines of the honorary ceremony to award President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz the International Charlemagne Prize.

His Majesty stressed keenness to develop bilateral ties to achieve advanced levels of cooperation and serve mutual interests.  

The meeting also addressed the latest regional and international developments, and efforts exerted to deal with them, at the top of which are fighting terrorism and achieving peace in the Middle East in a way that enhances international peace and security, according to a Royal Court statement.

Royal Court Chief Fayez Tarawneh, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh, King's Office Director Jafar Hassan and Finnish officials also attended the meeting.

His Majesty returned home later Thursday after concluding the three-day working visit to Albania and Germany.  

In Berlin, the King met with President Joachim Gauck, Chancellor Angela Merkel and Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen. 

At separate meetings with the German officials, the two sides discussed ways to increase cooperation and strengthen the Jordanian-German ties in various fields, besides addressing the latest developments in the Middle East and at the global level, mainly the efforts exerted to combat terrorism.  

In Tirana, the first leg of his visit, King Abdullah held talks with Albanian President Bujar Nishani, which focused on strengthening bilateral relations and reviewing regional issues of mutual interests.