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Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - Senate President Faisal Fayez said on Tuesday that even the worst pessimists would not have imagined the evil deeds, sectarian conflict, extremist tendencies, blind terrorism targeting the innocent and distortion of noble religious values and other unprecedented ills that prevailed in the region and the world.

In a keynote speech at the 9th Bosphorus Summit held in Istanbul under the theme: "Sustaining Peace and Development for All", Fayez said the absence of joint regional action and cooperation and failure by regional countries to agree on a holistic strategy to resolve problems had facilitated the task of those who seek to spread evil, violence and chaos, which "we have been suffering from".

It is high time to conduct a comprehensive review of the miserable conditions, and join forces toward achieving development for all, as progress and economic prosperity lead to political stability, enhance international understanding and serve the global goals of peace and security, he pointed out.

"In Jordan, we join our efforts with peace-loving nations to an environment of tolerance, justice, rule of law, cooperation and mutual respect, one where there is immunity against extremism, violence, hate, bigotry and racism."

The Senate president said that despite the enormous challenges posed to it by regional turmoil, Jordan had overcome the difficulties, thanks to the boldness of its people and its wise leadership, noting the impact of the Syrian refugee crisis on the Kingdom and Syria's other neighbouring countries, Turkey and Lebanon.

"Jordan opened its doors to the Syrian brothers, with whom we shared a living, as we had done in the past with our people from Iraq and Palestine", he said, adding that the current challenge facing the Kingdom now is economic. He said the wars in Syria and Iraq had taken a heavy toll on the Kingdom's economy, forcing the closure of the borders with these countries and substantially reducing commercial and industrial exports, which led to annual losses that ran in billions of dollars.

Fayez also said Jordan and the entire region had suffered from the failure to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict as Israel's intransigence slammed the door to all efforts aimed at achieving a just and lasting settlement, and Israel is the sole party directly responsible for regional instability and rising violence.

He also lauded Jordanian-Turkish ties and Ankara's support of Jordan's custodianship over holy Islamic and Christian sites in Jerusalem, urging more international efforts to protect Jerusalem and Palestine.

The 9th Bosphorus Summit, held from 26-28 Nov., is organized by the International Cooperation Platform (ICP) under the patronage of Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

A whole range of topics, including trade wars, trade in local currencies, development projects, global peace, and renewable energy, will be discussed at the summit in which experts, academics, business-people, and politicians from several countries are taking part.