Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - Cyprus and Jordan signed on Friday an Agreement on the Abolition of Visa Requirements for Holders of Diplomatic and Service Passports, and a Programme for Cooperation in the fields of Education and Culture for the years 2017-2020.
The Agreement and the Programme of Cooperation were signed in Nicosia by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Ioannis Kasoulides and the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Nasser Judeh, in the framework of Judeh’s visit to Cyprus.
The two Ministers had a tête-à-tête meeting, followed by official talks of the delegations of the two countries. During the meeting, Kasoulides had the opportunity to brief his Jordanian counterpart on the developments in the negotiation process for finding a solution to the Cyprus problem. At the same time, the two ministers discussed bilateral relations, the way ahead for a trilateral cooperation of Cyprus, Greece and Jordan, as well as other international and regional issues of common interest.
Referring to the Cyprus problem, during his statements to the press, the Jordanian Minister said that he was briefed by Kasoulides on the latest developments, noting the commitment to reach a conclusion to the Cyprus` negotiations. He also stressed that "we look forward to the meetings in Geneva in January with great expectations and hope”.
On his part Kasoulides said in his statements that he briefed Judeh on the ongoing negotiations of the Cyprus problem and that they discussed the way ahead for the trilateral cooperation between Cyprus, Jordan and Greece in a more concrete way.
Judeh said that his visit today takes place as a follow-up of the extremely important visit by the King of Jordan to Cyprus a few months ago and his meeting with President Anastasiades. Also, he referred to the conclusion and signing of the two agreements, which will strengthen the bilateral relations. "We are extremely proud of the relations we have with Cyprus historically, politically, economically, socially and practically. We want to do everything in our power to enhance these relations further. We value Cyprus’ contribution in this part of the world and, of course, Cyprus’ extremely important role within the EU and the international stage”, he underlined.
As regards the trilateral cooperation of Cyprus, Greece and Jordan, the Jordanian Minister noted that with Minister Kasoulides have laid the foundation for this trilateral cooperation, expressing hope that a Ministerial Meeting will take place as soon as possible, leading up to a Summit and more substantive discussions.
He also said that they had the opportunity to discuss the political developments in the region. "We discussed the situation in Syria, the ongoing conflict and the humanitarian disaster that is taking place under the eyes of the entire world. I reminded Minister Kasoulides of Jordan’s firm belief that for what we are seeing every day in Syria, there is no humanitarian solution to the crisis; there is a political solution that will end the humanitarian tragedy, hopefully, and lay the foundation not just for the physical reconstruction of Syria but also the political reconstruction that is required”, Minister Judeh stressed.
He added that Jordan, when serving as a non-permanent Member of the UN Security Council, initiated several resolutions regarding the humanitarian situation, namely Resolutions 2139, 2065, 2191 and 2258.
"These are all Security Council’s resolutions that address the core issue of the humanitarian situation in Syria and also ensuring the entry of humanitarian convoys. Since these resolutions were adopted, directly from Jordan, we have had 2300 humanitarian convoys entering Syria. We were part of the humanitarian aircampaign and on the 9th of this month, there was a General Assembly meeting and a resolution to address the humanitarian situation, not just in Aleppo, but everywhere in Syria. We will continue working together towards reaching a political solution in Syria”, he said.
The Jordanian Foreign Minister also noted that they discussed about the developments in the region in general, the political process in Iraq and the battle for Mosul, the ongoing conflicts in Libya and Yemen and the Palestinian-Israeli process and highlighted the commitment "we all have to make to continue our efforts to bring about negotiations that will lead to the implementation of the two states solution," with viable, continuous, independent Palestinian state and security for all the populations of the Middle East”.
Judeh expressed his pride for the opening of the new resident Embassy of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in Nicosia, saying that it is "a dream that has come true for us here and something that is a natural extension of the special relationships that exist between Jordan and Cyprus. We now have a resident Ambassador, we have a resident Embassy, and our discussions will continue in a more institutional way, but certainly on the bilateral level between Minister Kasoulides and me,” he added.
In his statements Kasoulides referred to the friendly relations between Cyprus and Jordan, to be reconfirmed with the official inauguration of the Jordanian Embassy in Nicosia. "This is another concrete proof of the closeness of relations between Cyprus and Jordan,” he noted.
As regards today’s meeting, Minister Kasoulides said that a range of bilateral issues was discussed, following up the visit of His Majesty King Abdullah to Nicosia last September. He also noted that they examined regional and international issues, "where our convergence of opinion proves the potential for enhanced cooperation between moderate and like-minded countries, like ours, in the region”.
"I also informed Minister Judeh that Cyprus will support the Tarabot Community Center, a project undertaken by the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organization as it faces increasing refugee flows, with a symbolic amount (€10.000) that demonstrates that whenever we have the opportunity we will assist Jordan, in order to address effectively these challenges and strengthen its resilience," he added
"We also discussed the further strengthening of the solid and multifaceted relationship between the EU and Jordan. I am very pleased that the EU-Jordan Partnership Priorities 2016-2018 will be signed in Cairo next week," he noted.
Furthermore he said that "the Hashemite Kingdom is also a pivotal peace partner in the efforts to resolve the Middle East Peace Process. It has never ceased to deploy efforts and play a prominent role in promoting peace and security in the area and beyond, under the wise guidance of His Majesty King Abdullah. We have exchanged views on recent developments on this issue and examined how conducive conditions could be created in order to restart the process”, Kasoulides underlined.
Cyprus has been divided since 1974 when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. UN brokered talks resumed in May 2015 aiming to reunify the island under a federal roof.
Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci decided on December 1 that they will meet in Geneva on January 9, 2017. On January 11 they will present their respective maps relating to the territory chapter and on January 12 a Conference on Cyprus will be convened with the added participation of the guarantor powers, while other relevant parties shall be invited as needed.
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