Safadi conveys King’s message to Romanian president

AMMAN — Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi on Wednesday delivered a message from His Majesty King Abdullah to Romanian President Klaus Iohannis.

Safadi also had talks with top officials in Bucharest, including the prime minister, his counterpart and a leading MP.

The King’s letter underlined Jordan’s keenness to take its ties with Romania to a new level of cooperation in a variety of sectors. 

The King congratulated Iohannis, whose country has become the rotating president of the EU for the coming six months, stressing the “strong friendship” between the Kingdom and the East European country.

The president, for his part, said at the meeting with Safadi that Jordan is a key Middle East partner of Romania, stressing that his country is equally interested in further cooperation between the Kingdom and Romania at the bilateral level and within the partnership with the EU.

He referred to his meeting with the King on the sidelines of the UN meeting in New York in September, during which the two leaders agreed to take tangible steps to improve bilateral ties.

He also underlined the importance of a meeting of the Jordanian-Romanian Economic Forum planned during the current year, also agreed with His Majesty. 

Talks also covered the latest regional developments and efforts exerted towards resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the Syrian crisis as well as terrorism and the Romanian participation in the Aqaba meetings.

Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila also received Safadi in a separate meeting during which the two sides stressed that Jordan and Romania are moving ahead with plans to increase cooperation in trade, investment, education and tourism sectors.  

The Romanian prime minister underlined Jordan’s role in enhancing regional peace and stability, stressing that Romania will work on bolstering the Jordanian-EU cooperation during her country’s presidency of the EU.

She also underlined the importance of defence cooperation between Romania and Jordan, stressing the importance of the Aqaba meetings in addressing terrorism through a holistic approach. 

Safadi voiced Jordan’s keenness on improving its relations with Romania in all fields through practical steps.

The two sides also discussed the possibility of increasing Romania’s scholarships to Jordanian students, mainly in vocational and medical education. 

Safadi kicked off his meetings in Romania with talks with his counterpart Teodor Melescanu, during which they agreed to set up a framework to conclude agreements and identify sectors in which swift achievements can be accomplished to improve economic cooperation.

The two ministers also went over regional developments efforts to resolve crises in the Middle East, according to the statement.

In joint press remarks after their meeting, Safadi said that there are “wide prospects for improving cooperation between the two countries, both on the bilateral and the EU levels, noting that Romania has “clear and historical stances in support of peace and stability”.

He added that Wednesday’s visit is a step towards activating cooperation and strengthening relations between Jordan and Romania on all levels, particularly in trade, investment, tourism, energy, information technology and security and defence.

The foreign minister stressed that the Kingdom offers lucrative and attractive investment opportunities, noting that Jordan is not only a gateway to the Middle East, but also to large global markets in light of free trade agreements with the US and Canada, among others.

Safadi stressed during his talks with Melescanu that the Palestinian cause is the central issue of the region, and that the only viable solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is an end to the occupation, leading to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state within the pre-1967 lines with East Jerusalem as its capital.

The top diplomats also reviewed joint efforts to combat terrorism as well as efforts to reach a political solution to the Syrian crisis, with Safadi calling on the international community to shoulder its responsibilities towards refugees.

For his part, Melescanu said that the business sectors of both countries will find opportunities to increase direct investments, noting that the two countries will sign several agreements in the fields of economy, trade and education, among others.

Safadi also met with Romanian parliamentary committees, during which both sides stressed the need for enhancing cooperation on the legislative level.