Ammon News -

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Ayman Safadi, discussed on Thursday, with his Canadian counterpart, Marc Garneau, ways to develop "distinguished" relations between the two friendly countries, and regional and international developments of common interest.

On top are Palestinian cause and international efforts aimed at finding a political horizon and launching serious negotiations between the Palestinian and Israeli sides to achieve a comprehensive and just peace on the basis of the two-state solution, and stop illegal Israeli practices that undermine chances of achieving peace in the region, said a ministry's statement.

In a joint press conference, Safadi said Garneau's visit to the Kingdom is "an indication of the deep-rooted Jordanian-Canadian relations and the joint keenness to continue dialogues and discussions aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation and developing relations based on shared values ??in providing a better life for peoples."

Safadi congratulated his Canadian counterpart on the occasion of Canada Day (National Day), which falls on July 1st.

Safadi also expressed his "deepest" condolences and "sincere" sympathy to the government and people of Canada over victims of the heat wave that hit Canada in an "unprecedented" way.

Safadi noted talks with his Canadian counterpart were based on previous dialogues held by His Majesty King Abdullah II and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, over years of contact and joint action to increase bilateral cooperation in the trade, economic and investment fields, as well as security, defense and counter- terrorism areas.

Noting Canada's "key" role in efforts to support the region's development, Safadi said the two countries have been working together through many programs over the years to activate cooperation in this field.

Safadi valued Canada's support for many programs aimed at achieving social and economic development in the Kingdom.

Today's meeting was an opportunity to talk about regional issues and challenges, in an "extensive" way about the Palestinian cause and efforts aimed at finding a political horizon for progress towards achieving comprehensive and lasting peace on the basis of the two-state solution in accordance with international law and international legitimacy resolutions, Safadi told reporters.

"The current stage requires that all action should focus on preventing any events that will re-ignite the situation in the Palestinian territories," Safadi said.

In this regard, he said: "We must work to establish stability in all the Palestinian territories, which would be achieved by halting any measures that could explode the situation," adding that all steps that undermine chances of achieving peace must be stopped, in particular, respecting the legal and historical status quo at Jerusalem.

Safadi said His Majesty King Abdullah II is the custodian over Islamic and Christian holy sites in occupied Jerusalem, and therefore our efforts are continuing to preserve the historical and legal status quo there, aimed to prevent any violations that will have "a very difficult" impact on the region.

Safadi said the Kingdom's position on the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood aims to "respect the right its residents to their homes, as Amman views their deportation and displacement, if it takes place, a war crime according to international law."

On joint counter-terror efforts, Safadi said the joint position of Jordan and Canada emphasizes "the necessity of continuing to work within the framework of the international coalition to defeat terrorism, which poses a common danger to all, and is certainly unrelated with the true Islamic religion and the values of peace, and respect for the other."

Lauding Canada's continuous support to Syrian refugees and the hosting countries, he also highlighted its assistance to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which suffers from an "acute" funding shortfall.

In this regard, Safadi stressed that the Kingdom will hold a conference at the end of 2021, in partnership with Sweden, "to mobilize political and financial support for the agency to continue providing its vital services to Palestinian refugees in its five operation countries."

Safadi added that "UNRWA is still suffering from a severe lack of funding, adding that Jordan is working "intensively" to mobilize international support for the agency in the Kingdom.

Safadi pointed out that there is a Jordanian-Swedish partnership that has continued over the past years, where more than one international conference has been held to mobilize international support for UNRWA.