Ammon News - Spanish Ambassador in Amman Miguel de Lucas on Tuesday described his country's ties with Jordan as "historical and solid" and backed by the close relations of the two countries' royal families.

In an interview with Petra on the occasion of the National Day of Spain, which falls on October 12, Lucas underscored that Jordan and Spain see eye-to-eye on all regional and global political issues, pointing to the expansion of ties in recent years into fields such as defense and security, development aid, and cultural cooperation thanks to a consistent exchange of visits.

On October 1st, 2020, a new phase of Jordanian-Spanish cooperation started after the signing of the first partnership agreement, which lays out the basics, priorities, collaborations, resources, and tools to implement Spanish-Jordanian cooperation programs for the 2022-2024 period, said the envoy.

Priorities stated in the partnership agreement, he continued, help maintain programs and sectors determined in an action plan put in place in recent years, which is concerned with structural reform in social protection, health, water, and sewage sectors.

From 2017 to 2021, development aid offered by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation totaled 26 million euros, in addition to another equal contribution from the Spanish General State Budget and the European Union's funds, said Lucas.

He emphasized that Jordan and Spain agree on the need to fight extremism affecting coexistence in societies, describing terrorism as "one of the most brutal forms of extremism." The envoy underscored focusing on education to spread dialogue and moderate values, which, in turn, help prevent the spread of terrorism.

Going over economic cooperation, he said Spain's imports from Jordan in 2022's January-July period amounted to USD62 million, up a whopping 74 percent compared to the same period of 2021, while exports to Jordan totaled USD233 million with an annual increase of 34 percent.

Spanish imports from Jordan, he added, mainly were of fertilizers, non-organic chemicals, and aluminum, while exports to Jordan included ceramics, tiles, panels, sheep, goats, oils, perfumes, seeds, and electrical appliances, noting that trade ties are growing at a "good pace."

He also went over the number of Spanish tourists coming to Jordan in 2021, which hit 7,000, down 82 percent from the 41,800 recorded in 2019. In 2022's first six months, he said Jordan welcomed 13,000 Spanish tourists, which is less than the pre-pandemic figures, adding that "our goal is to reach and even exceed pre-pandemic numbers."