ammonnews.net

BY Eleftheria Galathianaki

On March 25, Greece celebrates its National Day. On this occasion, I would like to elaborate on the bilateral relations of our two countries: Greece has always appreciated Jordan’s stabilising role in the broader region of the Middle East. The country plays a central part in the quest for peace, security and stability in the area.

The bilateral political relations are excellent and the commercial ones are improving. It is to be noted that the Greek presence in the Middle East is historic and goes back centuries.

We have always supported a negotiated two-state solution to the Palestinian issue, within the internationally accepted parameters, that is, a viable Palestinian state within the pre-1967 borders, co-existing, side by side with Israel. We are ready to support all initiatives aiming at the recommencement of the Peace Process.

Greece is fully aware of Jordan’s pivotal role in the Palestinian issue, as well as of His Majesty King Abdullah´s role as Custodian of the Holy Sites in Jerusalem.

As far as the Abraham Accords are concerned, it is our belief that normalisation of Israel’s relations with its Arab neighbours and other Muslim countries could and should contribute to the Peace Process.

Greece has traditionally attached special value to its relations with Jordan and our willingness to further enhance our bilateral ties has always been duly reciprocated. There is still ample room for our countries to explore new cooperation opportunities in the fields of trade and investment. The Jordanian-Greek Business Association (JGBA), has already played a significant role in this domain.

This year, we look forward to the realisation of the Joint Ministerial Committee, scheduled to take place in Athens. In the sidelines of this meeting, an Economic Forum is also to take place, with the participation of Jordanian and Greek Businessmen. We expect that the event will give ground to new important synergies.

In 2021, the Summit of the Trilateral Regional Scheme Jordan-Cyprus-Greece took place in Greece (July 2021) and His Majesty, King Abdullah, visited Athens and had talks with our Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, as well as with President of Cyprus Nikos Anastasiades. We strongly believe that the Trilateral Co-operation contributes to the enhancement of our bilateral relations with Jordan and, also, to the stability of the broader region.

Greek Minister for Foreign Affairs Nicos Dendias paid a short visit to Amman (May 2021) and had talks with his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi about the developments in Gaza and other regional issues. This was the third visit of the Greek Foreign Minister to Jordan, in less than two years.

In addition, my country provided 150,000 vaccines to Jordan for the fight against COVID-19 pandemic.

What is more, Greece has been providing, through the last decades, scholarships to Jordanian students for military, as well as ecclesiastic studies.

I would also like to underline the active engagement of Greece in the overall co-operation between the European Union and Jordan. The axes of this co-operation include, inter alia, achieving regional stability, combatting terrorism and attaining financial stability. My country views positively Jordanian requests vis à vis the EU: We supported, from the very beginning, the inclusion of Jordan in the list of epidemiologically safe countries whose citizens were able to travel to the EU, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Greece praises Jordan for hosting a big number of refugees without instrumentalising their presence in its territory. We strongly believe that Jordan should not be left alone, especially under the light of the current, extremely difficult, situation where new avenues for cooperation are being opened for an even closer coordination on security matters, since both Jordan and Greece are renowned pillars of stability and moderation in the broader region of the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East.