King meets with Kazakh president, PM over ties

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Thursday met with President Nursultan Nazarbayev in Kazakhstan and discussed bilateral cooperation, and regional and international developments.

The King, who returned home later in the day, congratulated Nazarbayev for recently being re-elected to assume a new presidential term, a Royal Court statement said.

Regarding economic cooperation, His Majesty highlighted the investment opportunities available in Jordan, underlining major ones announced in May during the World Economic Forum in the Middle East and North Africa meeting, hosted for the ninth time in the Kingdom on the shores of the Dead Sea.

In regard to regional and international issues, the two leaders discussed efforts to fight terrorism and extremist ideologies, which, they agreed, threaten the world’s security and safety.

Moreover, the King commended Kazakhstan’s efforts in the anti-extremism efforts, especially through holding the Fifth Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions to enhance tolerance, moderation and coexistence among followers of different religions.

His Majesty attended the conference on Thursday and delivered a speech.

King Abdullah also stressed the importance of promoting the true image of Islam as a faith of peace, and working on unifying followers of different religions in concerted efforts to stand up to terrorism.

The two leaders discussed efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East through solving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and resorting to political solutions to the crises hitting regional countries.

Nazarbayev commended “the depth of the relations between the two countries as well as Jordan’s efforts to achieve peace and stability in the region”.

The meeting was attended by Royal Court Chief Fayez Tarawneh, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff and the King’s Military Adviser Gen. Mashal Al Zaben, Jordan’s Ambassador in Astana Ahmad Ennab, Kazakhstan Foreign Minister Erlan A. Idrissov and Kazakhstan’s Ambassador to Jordan Azamat Berdibai as well as senior officials from the Kazakhstan embassy in Amman.

Also on Thursday, His Majesty met separately with Prime Minister Karim Massimov to discuss bilateral relations as well developments in regional and international arenas, the Royal Court said. 

Massimov voiced Kazakhstan’s interest in boosting cooperation with Jordan in various sectors and creating joint investment opportunities, and commended the King’s efforts in dealing with the challenges facing the region.