Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - Prime Minister Hani Mulki said Sunday that Jordan is carrying out its historic role of protecting Islamic and Christian hole sites in Jerusalem based on the Hashemite custodianship over the holy places.

He said in a meeting with Turkish Minister of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications, Ahmet Arslan, that the continued political and economic gridlock for the Palestinians would lead to further violence and regional instability.

The Turkish minister commended Jordan's custodianship of the sacred sites in Jerusalem, adding "we support and appreciate Jordan's role in safeguarding the holy shrines".

Mulki also said Jordan is interested in increasing cooperation with Turkey in economic, trade, investment and transport fields, voicing hope that the next stage will see further cooperation and enhanced benefits from the free trade agreement signed by the two countries.

He said increased economic, investment and industrial cooperation is fundamental to empower the transport sector, adding "we welcome Turkish companies to invest in industrial and storage domains so that the transport systems can function efficiently".

Mulki pointed to the enormous prospects for transport cooperation, including the relaunch of an airline route between Aqaba and Istanbul, which had been halted for sometime, and starting a maritime route between Aqaba and the Turkish port of Iskenderun.

The meeting also dealt with the common challenges posed to Jordan and Turkey by the Syrian crisis, as the two countries are hosts to large numbers of Syrian refugees, as well as their efforts in fighting terrorism.

Mulki said he thinks the war against the terrorist Daesh terror gang is about to end "with a real victory over the forces of evil and darkness that harm Islam and Muslims", stressing the need to address "the roots of regional crises, not only their byproducts".