Ammon News - The 30th session of the Jordanian-Egyptian Joint Higher Committee meetings kicked off Monday in Cairo, and is co-chaired by Prime Minister Bishr Khasawneh and his Egyptian counterpart Mostafa Madbouly.
In a speech, the Prime Minister highlighted the "distinguished relations" between Jordan and Egypt, which were founded and cemented under the directives His Majesty King Abdullah II and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, pointing to other directives to overcome obstacles and advance relations to achieve the aspirations of the two countries' peoples.
"The Jordanian-Egyptian relations are strategic and historic," Khasawneh underscored, pointing out that the two countries see eye-to-eye on various regional issues and challenges.
He stressed that Jordan and Egypt are "being targeted by evil forces that pursue dark ideology over the two countries unwavering commitment to national issues.
Al-Khasawneh said "such targeting takes many forms, sometimes through the media, and at other times through leaks by suspicious parties and organizations, such as the "Pandora" documents."
The Prime Minister underlined the firm stances of Jordan and Egypt towards the Palestinian cause, which, he stressed, is a priority for the two countries' leaders and peoples, who have made great sacrifices for the conflict over the years.
The two countries have also made great contributions to sustain the political path to peace, which would lead to the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state on pre-June 4, 1967 lines with East Jerusalem as its capital, to live alongside other countries in the region in peace and security.
"We stand in solidarity with Egypt and fully support its rights related to the legal and historical framework governing the use of the Nile River," Khasawneh underlined.
He pointed to cooperation and coordination in the face of challenges and threats affecting the region, including any possible military escalation between Russia and Ukraine and the resulting tensions and any spike in the prices of basic materials imported from the two countries.
On Lebanon, the Prime Minister highlighted Jordan and Egypt's swift response by taking measures to assist the country address its energy crisis so that it will not be "an arena for settling regional accounts."
He stressed the importance of the tripartite mechanism of economic cooperation between Jordan, Egypt and Iraq in achieving economic integration, noting that as soon as a new Iraqi government is formed, a set of projects will be placed under implementation, including the oil pipeline and industrial and logistical cities.
The outcomes of a recent visit of the Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II to Egypt will be followed up on through a tourism integration project in the Red Sea and Sinai Peninsula, and linking it with Aqaba, Petra and Wadi Rum.
For his part, the Egyptian Prime Minister highlighted the "unique" relationship between Jordan and Egypt and commitment to holding the meetings of the Joint Higher Committee, the oldest among Arab countries, on a regular basis and come up with results that serve bilateral ties.
This session, he pointed out, is being held at a time where the region and the world are experiencing major challenges that may affect the Middle East, increasing burdens on countries and their governments.
He underlined Egypt's commitment to upping trade and development cooperation and trade exchanges between the two countries, pointing to the Egyptian President's directives to raise the capacity of the electric line linking the two countries and upscaling cooperation to include Iraq and Lebanon.
He also stressed Egypt's commitment to meeting Jordan's needs of commodities and foodstuffs during the coming period, especially as the holy month of Ramadan approaches.
He lauded the Kingdom's care for the Egyptian workers, underscoring the role of businessmen and the private sector in the two countries in boosting investments and exploring available opportunities and areas of cooperation.
The meeting tackled means to increase trade exchange, in addition to boosting cooperation in the health, medicine, energy, tourism and transport fields.
Jordan and Egypt signed a number of memoranda of understanding and executive programs, in areas of logistics, plant quarantine, higher education, youth work, and media.
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