King Abdullah Meets Peruvian President

His Majesty King Abdullah II met with President of the Republic of Peru, Ollanta Humala Tasso, and discussed with him ways to cement ties between Jordan and the South American nation in various fields. The King is in Peru to attend the third Summit of South American and the Arab countries (ASPA) which opens tomorrow. The two leaders stressed keenness to develop bilateral relations in the fields of economy, trade, investment and air transport to serve the two countries' common interests. His Majesty highlighted available opportunities to enhance cooperation between Jordan and Peru in areas of tourism, especially religious tourism, and attract more Peruvians tourists to visit religious, historical and archaeological sites in the Kingdom. The talks dealt with prospects for Peruvian companies benefitting from the competitive investment environment in Jordan. The meeting also discussed a number of issues in the Middle East, namely Syria and the Palestinian issue.

King Abdullah expressed concern over the repercussions of the crisis in Syria and violence which has reached unprecedented levels. He warned that the failure to reach a political solution to the crisis will push things to a dangerous escalation that would negatively affect all countries in the region. The King highlighted Jordan's efforts in hosting an outflow of more than 200,000 Syrian refugees, despite scare resources. He urged the international community and South American countries to offer further support for Jordan to cater for the growing number of refugees. On peacemaking efforts in the Middle East, King Abdullah called on the international community, including South America, to push peacemaking forward to revive direct negotiations between the Palestinians and Israelis, thus achieving the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people to an independent Palestinian state living in peace and security alongside Israel.

The King also paid tribute to Jerusalem and highlighted Israeli measures against holy places, stressing that such moves are considered a major obstacle to achieve peace in the region. The Peruvian president hailed King Abdullah's wisdom in dealing with Middle East issues, particularly supporting the Palestinian people to achieve their aspirations to freedom and statehood. He called for formation of a joint committee between the two countries to study ways of boosting bilateral cooperation in various fields, especially in the economic and tourism fields.