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Ammon News -

Deputy Premier, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ayman Safadi Monday met Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to discuss developments in the region and ways to find solutions to crises and enhance regional security and stability.

Safadi, who is on a visit to Doha, conveyed to the emir His Majesty King Abdullah II's greetings and keen interest to further enhance Jordanian-Qatari ties in the various fields, "in a way that positively impacts the two brotherly countries and contributes to strengthening joint Arab action and serving Arab causes."

Sheikh Tamim sent his greetings to the King, stressing the importance of cementing cooperation "in a manner to achieve the common interests of the two brotherly countries."

Safadi also held expanded talks with Qatari Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammad bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on boosting bilateral cooperation, especially in economic and investment fields based on the outcome of a meeting in Amman last February between King Abdullah and Sheikh Tamim.

The ministers outlined steps to implement the Qatari initiative to provide 20,000 job opportunities to Jordanians in Qatar, as well as an investment package Qatar had announced in the Kingdom's infrastructure projects at a value of $500 million.

They also pledged to continue to create the proper environment for the implementation of the two initiatives "as soon as possible," despite the challenges posed by COVID-19, and the need for solidarity in facing the pandemic and addressing its repercussions.

The two sides also agreed to expedite work to accomplish a number of bilateral agreements and memoranda of understanding in the economic, social, developmental and other fields, ahead of a meeting of the joint Jordanian-Qatari Higher Committee, which will be co-chaired by the foreign ministers.

Safadi pledged that Jordan will provide any support needed by Qatar in organizing the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and also thanked Doha for its care of the Jordanian expatriate community in the Arab Gulf state.

The ministers called for intensifying efforts to resume serious and effective negotiations to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict based on the two-state solution that guarantees the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state on the lines of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital, and living in peace and security alongside Israel, in accordance with the international law and the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative.

Safadi and Sheikh Mohammed said that there is no alternative to the two-state solution as the path to a just and comprehensive peace, stressing the need for the international community to take effective measures to stop the illegal Israeli measures that undermine it, including the construction and expansion of Jewish settlements, the seizure of lands and the demolition of homes. They also stressed the need to counter Israeli assaults on Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem and attempts to change the historical and legal status in the city.

The Qatari minister emphasized the importance of the Hashemite custodianship over the Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem to protect them and safeguard their Arab, Islamic and Christian identity.

The ministers also stressed the importance of achieving Palestinian national reconciliation and unifying Palestinian ranks, and called for support to holding elections that the Palestinian National Authority announced this year.

Safadi thanked Qatar for its financial support to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which will help it overcome its financial crisis and ensure the continuation of vital services to Palestinian refugees under its UN mandate.

On other regional conflicts, the ministers called for intensifying efforts to reach a political solution to the Syrian crisis and supporting the achievements of the Libyan "brothers" on the road to ending the crisis in their country, and backed all efforts exerted to solve the Yemeni crisis and Iraqi's efforts to protect the country and its security, sovereignty and stability.

They also called for ending tension in the Arab Gulf region on the basis that guarantees healthy regional relations based on good neighborliness and non-interference in the internal affairs of others.