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Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - Jordan and Germany on Sunday pledged to further develop their strategic partnership and work hand-in-hand to resolve Middle East crises and bring about a comprehensive and lasting peace.

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ayman Safadi and his German counterpart Heiko Maas held talks in Amman where they emphasized the need to maintain constant coordination and cooperation on various issues of common concern.

The talks dealt with ways of boosting economic cooperation between the Kingdom and Germany, the second largest donor to Jordan, in all fields.

Maas voiced his country's support of the Kingdom's economic reform program to address economic challenges, and announced that Germany would offer Jordan an unconditional $100 million soft loan.

The two ministers discussed efforts to reach a political solution to the Syrian crisis and the developments in the war on terror and other regional developments, especially efforts to defuse tension with Iran.

In a joint press conference, Safadi valued the strong partnership between the two countries, which reflects cooperation and coordination through constant communication between His Majesty King Abdullah II and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

He added that the partnership with Germany is a reliable partnership that has evolved in all spheres of bilateral cooperation. "Today's meeting was an opportunity to look into ways of strengthening bilateral relations and about our joint work in order to contribute to overcoming the challenges facing the region," he said.

Safadi further said: "The Palestinian issue, of course, was at the forefront of what we discussed, and we and Germany agree that the two-state solution is the only way to end the conflict. We highly appreciate the firm German position and the efforts made by Germany to achieve this solution [two-state solution]."

"We want a comprehensive and lasting peace. In order for peace to be comprehensive and lasting, the occupation must end. An independent Palestinian state must be based on the June 4, 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital," the foreign minister emphasized.

He stressed that resolving the conflict is political and therefore can not be resolved outside the framework of a political solution that ends the occupation and brings about a two-state solution, according to which an independent Palestinian state will live in peace and security alongside Israel in accordance with the resolutions of international legitimacy and the Arab peace initiative.

On Syria, Safadi added that the two countries also agreed to intensify efforts to reach a political solution to the crisis in Syria, and agreed that regional relations should be based on the principles of good neighborliness and non-interference in the internal affairs of other states.

Safadi said: "We and Germany advocate the same principles that aim at achieving peace, stability development in the region."

The minister thanked Germany for its support to the Kingdom in its efforts to meet the needs of 1.3 million Syrian refugees living in Jordan, despite the difficult economic conditions in the Kingdom.

The German Foreign Minister said: "I am pleased to be here on this special day as the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan celebrates the 20th anniversary of His Majesty King Abdullah II accession to the throne, and we would like to express our sincere congratulations on this occasion."

He said his talks with Safadi focused on the situation in the Middle East and current affairs. "We count on Jordan's assessment of the situation. This assessment is very important to us because Jordan has a great knowledge and a balanced role in the region. We respect and appreciate Jordan's continued constructive role and support it."

"We are aware of the difficult economic situation in Jordan and we are very happy to see Jordan continues its joint efforts with the IMF in a very courageous way."

Mas added that the talks also dealt with cooperation in the war against Daesh and the presence of German troops in Jordan as part of the international coalition to fight the terrorist organization, which remains a threat despite the defeat it sustained.

Turning to the Palestinian issue, the German foreign minister said: "We fully agree with Jordan on this issue and we also rely on Jordan's assessment of the situation," Mas said, adding: "We have been and are still in agreement that a two-state solution through negotiations is the only solution."