Your Excellency,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is with great pleasure that I welcome His Excellency Mr. Ayman Safadi, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to Cyprus today.
Dear Ayman,
This visit takes place in the framework of our ongoing bilateral coordination. We reviewed the full range of our cooperation, at bilateral and trilateral levels, and exchanged views on our next steps to further strengthen our excellent relations in view of the upcoming Trilateral Summit of Heads of State to be held in Cyprus in the second half of 2022.
Of course, we devoted much of our discussion to the dramatic events in Ukraine, the turbulent situation in Jerusalem, the Middle East peace process, the latest developments in our region and the Cyprus problem.
First of all, I had the opportunity to warmly welcome His Majesty's proposal to have Jordanian fire-fighting aircraft stationed in Cyprus during the fire season.
We all agree that the situation in Ukraine is particularly worrying with implications ranging from food insecurity in the Middle East to severe shocks to the global economy.
Ayman
I certainly focused on the situation in Jerusalem which is of particular concern and praised Jordan's continued efforts to de-escalate. In this context, I would like to reaffirm Cyprus' full support for the maintenance of the statusquo of Muslim and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem under the Hashemite Custodian and to acknowledge Jordan's commitment to ensure the right of all religions to freedom of worship.
It is imperative to preserve the fragile stability in the Old City of Jerusalem in order to prevent a new outbreak of violence.
Regarding the Middle East peace process, I reaffirmed Cyprus' firm support for efforts to assist the resumption of a process aimed at immediate and meaningful negotiations for a comprehensive and lasting peace settlement, based on a two-state solution, in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions and internationally agreed parameters.
We also took stock of the current state of play in EU-Jordan relations. We are pleased to confirm that the EU-Jordan Association Council will take place on 2 June in Jordan and I will do my utmost to attend. As the closest EU member state in the region, we believe that we act as a link with the EU, not only for Jordan but also for the whole region.
I also briefed my colleague on the latest developments on the Cyprus issue.
Once again, Foreign Minister Safadi, dear Ayman, thank you very much for your visit and I look forward to continuing our productive cooperation.
(IK)
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