Safadi delivers King’s letter to Qatari emir

AMMAN — Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani on Tuesday received Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi who delivered a letter from His Majesty King Abdullah to the emir, which stressed keenness to enhance the “deep-rooted brotherly” relations between the countries in a way that positively reflects the interests of both peoples and regional issues.

Safadi conveyed King Abdullah’s greetings to Sheikh Tamim and his best wishes for health and more progress and prosperity to the Qatari people, according to a Foreign Ministry statement.

Sheikh Tamim conveyed his greetings and best wishes for His Majesty’s further health and more progress and welfare for the Jordanian people, stressing the “deep-rooted” relations between Qatar and Jordan and the joint will to further develop them at various levels.

Prior to his meeting with Sheikh Tamim, Safadi met with Qatari Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani over means to enhance cooperation and coordinate efforts on Arab and regional issues, foremost of which is the Palestinian cause.

The two ministers stressed the importance of developments witnessed by the bilateral relations, mainly at the economic and investment fields in implementation of the directives of King Abdullah and Sheikh Tamim.

They also reviewed steps made by the two countries to create a wider scope of cooperation in various sectors that includes investment projects and providing jobs for Jordanians in Qatar, which recently increased by 10,000 opportunities under Sheikh Tamim’s initiative to provide 20,000 jobs for Jordanians.

The two ministers also stressed the importance of identifying investment projects in the Kingdom through direct communication between the concerned ministries and departments in light of Qatar’s initiative to create and investment fund with a value of $500 million in projects of economic value in several sectors.

Safadi expressed the Kingdom’s appreciation of the care Qatar offer to some 70,000 Jordanian residents.

Both ministers also reiterated the centrality of the Palestinian issue, the top Arab cause, and the importance of launching intensified and effective efforts to solve the Palestinian issue based on the two-state solution that embodies the independent Palestinian state on the pre-1967 lines to live side by side with Israel according to the Arab Peace Initiative and relevant international resolutions.

Safadi and Sheikh Mohammed warned of continuing to lack "a real political ground" to solve the Palestinian issue, stressing the need to stop all illegitimate Israeli procedures that undermine the two-state solution, urging Israel to respect the historical and legal status quo in Jerusalem and its holy sites.

They also went over the summit that will bring together the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Jordan, Egypt, Iraq and the US in Saudi Arabia in July, stressing the importance of coordinating Arab positions before it is held.

The two foreign ministers also expressed continued support to Iraq and the importance of reaching a political solution to the Syrian crisis and supporting the truce in Yemen.

Meanwhile, Safadi is scheduled to participate in the meeting of foreign ministers of NATO on the sidelines of the organisation’s summit in Madrid on Wednesday.