Norwegian ambassador commends Jordan’s decisive role in region

AMMAN — The Norwegian Ambassador to Jordan Tone Allers on Sunday said that Jordan, under the leadership of His Majesty King Abdullah, the custodian of Islamic and Christian sites in Jerusalem, plays a decisive role in resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict on the basis of international legitimacy and relevant UN resolutions, foremost of which is the two-state solution.

In an interview to the Jordan News Agency, Petra, on the occasion of the National Day of Norway, Allers highlighted that Jordan and Norway enjoy strong relations at all political and economic levels, describing Jordan as an important partner to resolve and prevent conflicts and enhance stability in the Middle East.

She pointed to the importance of the recent visits by a number of Norwegian officials to Jordan, most notably the visit of King Harald and Queen Sonja, which was their first official visit to the region, and the visit of a trade delegation consisting around 30  representatives of companies to discuss cooperation in the fields of technology, health, energy and sustainable tourism.

Expressing Norwegian aspiration to bolster cooperation in the field of trade, investment and tourism, she suggested materialising that by exporting Norwegian seafood to Jordan, and importing clothes, accessories, chemicals and some fruits and vegetables from Jordan.

The ambassador voiced Norway’s appreciation of and support for the hospitality and humanity shown by Jordan and its people towards refugees, reiterating Norway’s commitment at the London conference to provide 10 billion Norwegian kroner over four years to the Syrian refugees and the countries hosting them.

She explained that the current focus is on education through allowing Syrian children to join schools in light of the coronavirus crisis.

Additionally, the Norwegian ambassador stressed the need to cooperate with the International Labour Organisation to support the Social Security Corporation in order to establish an emergency unemployment fund.

 On a similar note, she highlighted Norway’s support to the Jordanian action plan on women, peace and security, media and social cohesion.

Allers also pointed to the coordination between the two countries on issues related to UN reforms and the prevention of extremism, especially that Norway, through its membership in the Security Council as an elected member from 2021 to 2022, is looking forward to maintaining close coordination with Jordan during this period to counter terrorism.