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Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - His Majesty King Abdullah II on Thursday held talks in Tokyo with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on bilateral ties and ways to bolster them in various domains.

Talks also touched on the latest regional and international developments, as well as means to maintain cooperation and coordination on various issues.

The two leaders discussed economic cooperation, where Jordanian priority projects were presented before the Japanese side to benefit from developmental grants offered to Jordan. They also discussed ways of supporting the budget through soft loans.

The talks covered cooperation in the security fields, as well as means to fight terrorism. In this regard, Japan offered Jordan an additional $10 million grant to help the Kingdom boost its borders security.

King Abdullah and Prime Minister Abe reviewed the latest developments in Syria, Iraq, Libya and Yemen as well as efforts to breathe life into the peace process between the Palestinians and the Israelis. The two leaders underscored the need to find a political solution to the Syrian crisis that preserves its territorial integrity.

Japan, Abe said, highly appreciates the role played by Jordan at the regional level, as well as its contributions to enhance stability and security in the region.

In joint statements following the meeting, King Abdullah reiterated the depth of historical and strategic between the two countries, while expressing keenness to enhance them in various domains.

Following are the statements of His Majesty the King: "My dear friend, Prime Minister, thank you very much for your warm welcome, and I am delighted to be back here in Japan once again and I am very pleased with the fruitful discussions we have had earlier.

I would also like to take this opportunity, on behalf of myself and the people of Jordan, to express to His Imperial Majesty, the Imperial Family, the people of Japan on the passing away of His late Imperial Highness Prince Mikasa, on behalf of all of us in my country.

We have had a long and true relationship not only with the Imperial House but a true friendship between our two countries, and I am also here in Japan to thank the Japanese government and the Japanese people for the generous support that you have always shown the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

We are very proud of the historic and ever expanding relations, and remaining ourselves committed to further developing the strategic relationship between our two countries, as discussed during my last visit in Tokyo. And in this context, we welcome the signing of further agreements that we have just witnessed a few moments ago.

Being the oasis of stability in a region in turmoil and surrounded by conflicts, Jordan needs all the support it can get and we are very, very grateful again for Japan’s support. Japan has played an important role in our region, and tragic events have sadly shown us that the hands of extremism spare no one. Fighting extremism requires a collective approach – a holistic approach is critical to address the interconnected threats facing all of us not only the Middle East but also Africa, Asia as well as Europe.