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Ammon News -

Lower House Speaker Abdul Karim Al-Dughmi lauded the deep-rooted ties, cooperation, coordination and dialogue between Jordan and the European Union (EU) with its three institutions: the European Commission, the European Council and the European Parliament.

He said that the relations between the two sides are strategic and solid, as Jordan see the EU as major and strategic partner.

Speaking to Jordan's tenth parliamentary meeting with the European Parliament, currently held at the European Parliament headquarters in the French city of Strasbourg, Al-Dughmi, who chairs the Jordanian delegation, expressed his appreciation for the close cooperation with EU institutions and leaders, as well as with Member States.


The Jordanian parliamentary delegation participation, in the meeting with the European Parliament, is an opportunity to strengthen the Jordanian-European dialogue at the parliamentary level, which comes as a continuation of previous meetings, Al-Dughmi added.


Al-Dughmi said that the EU support contributed to addressing and alleviating social and economic challenges that Jordan faces as a result of conflicts and crises in the region and the world.

The EU rapid response also contributed to helping Jordan confront the Covid-19 pandemic by helping to provide vaccines, which enabled the protection of citizens as well as refugees and residents in the Kingdom.

He added that the support of European Food Security Facility also played an important role in alleviating the burden of foodstuffs rising prices.

Jordan, Al-Dughmi, is still facing aggravated social, economic and security challenges due to the impact of multiple crises in the region and the world on the Kingdom, foremost of which are the Palestinian issue, the Syrian crisis, the rise in energy and food prices, the repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Ukrainian crisis.

"Jordan is also aware of challenges facing Europe due to the repercussions of these crises. At the same time, we appreciate the European commitment to maintain the same level of support provided to Jordan, and ensuring raising it in the future, which has a great importance in preserving the outcomes of development and stability in Jordan and the region" Al-Dughmi noted.

 

On Palestine, Daghmi said: "The failure to resolve the Palestinian issue, which is the core of the conflict in the region, constitutes a stumbling block in the way of stability and peace,"

He emphasised the need to find a just and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian issue and related issues, including Jerusalem, refugees, borders, security and water.

He noted the need to base a future solution to the Palestinian cause on the two-state solution that would create a Palestinian state on the June 4, 1967 lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

"We reject tampering with this situation through the so-called temporal and spatial division of the Al Aqsa Mosque in its entirety of 144 dunums, and we iterate the historical Hashemite custodianship of Islamic and Christian sanctities in Jerusalem," he added.

He highlighted that Jordan holds high international support for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), adding that support must continue to support six million refugees in its five areas of operation.

On the Syrian crisis, Daghmi said: "We, in Jordan, affirm our strong support to Syria's territorial integrity, our rejection of external meddling and the need to ensure the voluntary return of refugees and displaced persons to their places of residence."

He welcomed the outcomes of the Sixth Brussels Conference, held in May to generate funding for the Syrian people and host communities, noting that Jordan deems it necessary for more work to end the crisis.

He added that the dwindling funding to the national response plan to the Syrian crisis negatively affects refugees and host communities.

On the Ukraine war, he said: The position on the Ukrainian crisis is clear that we continue to follow with concern. We voted in favour of the General Assembly resolutions and stressed on many occasions the importance of respecting states' sovereignty, stability and territorial integrity."

The Middle East was not absent from the Speaker's schedule. He said the region suffers from multiple and complex crises, conflicts, wars and the climate change fallout, noting that regional conflicts have a "profound" impact.