Ammon News -

Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh and his Egyptian counterpart Mustafa Madbouly on Tuesday co-chaired the 29th session of the joint Jordanian-Egyptian Higher Committee.

After welcoming the Egyptian premier and the accompanying delegation, Khasawneh described the committee as the "most regular and productive" committee, and that its work reflects on bilateral ties.

Khasawneh emphasized that Jordanian-Egyptian relations are deep-rooted, adding that the two countries see eye-to-eye on Arab causes, foremost of which is the Palestinian issue and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on pre-1967 lines with East Jerusalem as its capital. He voiced the Kingdom’s appreciation of Egypt’s stances and support for the historical Hashemite Custodianship over Muslim and Christian sites in Jerusalem.

The premier stressed that Jordan will always stand by Egypt against all that might affect Egyptian national security, which, he said, is part of the pan-Arab and Jordanian national security system.

He referred to the trilateral mechanism between Jordan, Egypt and Iraq and said it sets the ground for deepening economic integrations, especially in the energy domain, adding that the arrangement is consistent with other pan-Arab cooperation mechanisms.

Speaking about the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic, Khasawneh indicated the health crisis led to structural changes in the global economy, shipping and transit movement, but, he said, "the wheel of life must continue. We will have bilateral and even triple approaches to overcome the pandemic, leading to a safe summer in which the network of regional relations and the economic wheel will return to move."

For his part, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly affirmed that the joint Jordanian-Egyptian Higher Committee is one of the most successful bilateral committees, stressing that his country is keen to see the committee's meetings held regularly to serve bilateral ties and cooperation.

Madbouly stressed the two countries’ mutual coordination on various pan-Arab issues, top of which is the Palestinian issue, and their endeavors to bring about an independent Palestinian state.

The Egyptian prime minister stressed the need to overcome the effects and challenges imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic and restore the two-way trade exchange back to normal. He also voiced thanks and appreciation for the care and attention that Egyptian workers enjoy in Jordan.

In today's meeting, ministers and officials from both sides discussed ways to enhance bilateral cooperation in several areas, including trade exchange, enhancing electrical linkage, boosting cooperation in the gas and oil fields, facilitating procedures for the entry of Jordanian medicines into the Egyptian market and increasing agricultural exchanges.

Following the committee’s meeting, Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh told reporters that today’s talks culminated in the signing of executive memoranda of understanding and action programs in areas of company control, water resources, planning, antiquities, housing and urban development, electrical linkage and ICT.

He noted that his Egyptian counterpart conveyed a verbal message from President Abdulfattah el-Sisi to His Majesty King II, stressing: "We are always in the same boat and our positions with regard to political issues and our definitions of the threat to the national security of either country and the entire Arab national security are one".

Khasawneh said: "In Jordan, we consider that the Egyptian national security is an integral part of the national security of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. We fully support the Egyptian position on the central Egyptian issues, including the Egyptian approach related to the Renaissance Dam and the solutions proposed by the Egyptian leadership as it represents a prudent approach to resolve this issue without any prejudice to the rights of the riparian states, especially the Arab Republic of Egypt."

The prime minister also indicated that the talks dealt with the tripartite mechanism that brings together Jordan, Egypt and Iraq, noting that the leaders of the three countries agreed in an August 2020 summit in Amman to institutionalize this mechanism and set up a permanent transitional secretariat hosted by the Ministry Foreign Ministry in the country hosting the summit.

Khasawneh announced that a tripartite summit will be held soon between the leaders of the three countries, pointing out that ministers from the three countries are currently holding talks in Amman to prepare for the summit.

The prime minister said: "We have agreed to continue permanent coordination and exchange of visits away from the institutional framework of joint committees and to address any issues or obstacles hindering bilateral or even tripartite cooperation through direct solutions by ministers and officials."

Moreover, Khasawneh thanked the Egyptian government for the immediate and direct response to some of Jordan's medicinal needs and its move to facilitate some measures that lead to a smooth flow of trade between the two countries.

In turn, Egyptian Premier Mustafa Madbouly indicated that today’s talks addressed several matters related to bilateral cooperation in areas of transport and trade exchange, pointing out that there are plans between Jordan, Egypt and Iraq to double trade exchange as soon as the coronavirus pandemic comes to an end.

He also noted his meeting today with His Majesty King Abdullah II and the verbal message he conveyed from president El-Sisi to King Abdullah underlined Egypt’s support for Jordan in the various domains, especially in the health field.

He added that El-Sisi's message emphasized the importance of joint action and bilateral and full coordination between the two countries during these exceptional circumstances that the region is going through.

Madbouly noted that His Majesty the King voiced the Kingdom’s support for Egypt and said its national security is an integral part of Jordan’s national security, revealing that the King handed him a letter to president El-Sisi stressing Jordan’s full support for Egypt in the Renaissance Dam issue.