King meets foreign leaders, excelling Jordanians at WEF

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Saturday held a series of meetings with heads of state and senior officials, as part of the World Economic Forum, which focused on means of enhancing bilateral relations and regional developments.

King Abdullah and President of Macedonia Gjorge Ivanov reiterated the importance of activating economic agreements signed between the two countries, according to a Royal Court statement.

They also discussed efforts aimed at fighting terrorism and extremism within a holistic approach, as they have become a global threat to peace and security.

His Majesty also met with President of Kosovo Hashim Thaçi, to whom he reaffirmed the importance of enhancing political cooperation between the two countries, and exerting regional and international efforts in the war against terrorism. 

King Abdullah’s meeting with President of Niger Mahamadou Issoufou focused on enhancing bilateral ties and the war on terrorism, in addition to the latest developments in the Middle East.

During the meeting with Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades, both leaders discussed bilateral relations and means to develop them at various levels.

They also went over the burdens Jordan is shouldering as a result of hosting Syrian refugees. Anastasiades praised the Kingdom’s efforts in this regard, and called on the international community to support Jordan to help it continue presenting humanitarian and relief assistance to refugees.

During another meeting, the King and Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili discussed ways to develop bilateral relations, especially in the economic and investment fields, as well as regional developments and the war on terrorism.

Discussions focused on the importance of opening a direct flight between Jordan and Georgia, which would contribute to boosting economic and tourist relations, as well as starting partnerships between both countries’ private sectors.

His Majesty and Federica Mogherini, the high representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, discussed cooperation and strategic partnership relations between the Kingdom and the EU, in addition to regional issues.

Mogherini stressed that the Kingdom constitutes an important stability factor in the Middle East, praising its regional role in the Syrian crisis. 

The Monarch also held separate meetings with Canadian Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Ahmed Hussen, Foreign Minister of Costa Rica Manuel González Sanz, German Minister of Defence Ursula von der Leyen, Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Borge Brende, World Food Programme Executive Director David Beasley and Israeli Knesset member Tzipi Livni.

The meetings mainly focused on means of developing ties between Jordan and these countries and international organisations in various fields, as well as regional developments, the latest crises and the war on terrorism.

King Abdullah also met with a number of prominent Jordanian physicians working in the US, and expressed his pride in Jordanian expatriates’ achievements.

The King later met with a group of Jordanian young people, whose companies were chosen among 100 start-ups to take part in WEF, and voiced his pride in their innovation and entrepreneurship skills.

His Majesty met with Jordanian engineer Abeer Siqali, who designed refugee tents that generate electricity from solar energy and collect rainwater to restore it for later use.

Also on Saturday, the King, in the presence of Her Majesty Queen Rania, and President of Expedia Group Aman Bhutani, looked into ways to utilise the skills of young Jordanians in the ICT sector, which is a key economic driver, contributing 12 per cent of the Kingdom’s GDP. 

Talks also focused on the investment environment in the Kingdom, which enabled it to become a regional hub in this field.

Bhutani expressed his appreciation of Jordan’s “advanced” level in the ICT sector, thanks to the Kingdom’s qualified human resources and advanced infrastructure that encouraged Expedia Group to open an office for software development in the Kingdom.