Lower House Speaker meets with UK minister for Middle East

AMMAN — Lower House Speaker Ahmad Safadi and UK Minister of State for the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia and United Nations at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Lord (Tariq) Ahmad on Wednesday discussed ways to further boost bilateral relations, especially at the parliamentary level.

During the meeting, attended by UK Ambassador to Jordan Bridget Brind, Safadi stressed the "deep-rooted" relations between the two kingdoms, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Safadi stressed the importance of cooperation and coordination to serve common interests, which would contribute to achieving the region's security and stability and increasing support for the Palestinian people's right to establish their independent state.

He added that Jordan, under His Majesty King Abdullah's leadership, is taking "confident" steps towards enhancing its political, administrative and economic system, noting that Jordan entered its second centennial with a "comprehensive" national project that serves development goals.

For his part, Lord Ahmad said that his country pays "remarkable" importance to Jordan's role in the region under His Majesty's leadership, referring to the Kingdom's "central and important" role in pursuing security and stability in the Middle East. 

He also stressed his country's support for the Hashemite Custodianship over Jerusalem's Islamic and Christian holy sites and for Jordan's vision based on the two-state solution to achieve comprehensive peace.

The minister stressed his country's keenness to enhance cooperation prospects, which highlights the importance of the Kingdom's current comprehensive reforms, expressing "great" appreciation for the Jordanian efforts in the refugee portfolio.