Crown prince’s Jordan visit ‘to bolster economic, political cooperation, Arab unity’

Jordan's King Abdullah II (C) and his son Crown Prince Hussein (2nd-R) receiving Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at Queen Alia International Airport on the southern outskirts of Jordan's capital Amman on June 21, 2022. (AFP)
Short Url
Updated 22 June 2022
Follow

Crown prince’s Jordan visit ‘to bolster economic, political cooperation, Arab unity’

  • An EU-style common market, talks on Palestine, Israel and Iran, vital for regional growth and security, say officials
  • ‘Saudi leader’s tour critical ahead of Jeddah summit meeting with US President Joe Biden’

AMMAN: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Jordan trip will bolster economic and political cooperation vital to Arab unity, and is particularly important ahead of the regional meeting with US President Joe Biden, according to former Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister Mamdouh Al-Abadi.

“This is the first round of visits by Prince Mohammed bin Salman, which will be followed up with meetings with leaders in the Jeddah summit with US President Biden,” he told Arab News.

Al-Abadi’s remarks came during the crown prince’s foreign tour. Prince Mohammed landed in Amman on Tuesday evening after visiting Egypt and before heading to Turkey. The tour is aimed at coordinating regional issues prior to the summit in Jeddah between regional Arab leaders and Biden.

 

 

Al-Abadi, who served as one of the most popular and effective members of parliament and as the mayor of Amman, was the deputy prime minister in the Hani Mulki government, and is credited with carrying out important reforms in Jordan. As a veteran politician, he understands the value of face-to-face meetings.

“When leaders meet face to face without filters and others intervening, it allows for a more direct opportunity to agree on priorities of mutual interest,” he explained.

Economic issues are the current priority for Jordan, according to Al-Abadi. “Our relations with Gulf countries are usually focused on economic cooperation, with political issues playing a lower role,” he said.

Infrastructure projects such as railroads are critically in need of support, Al-Abadi remarked. “Transport is a big problem around the world but in Jordan, our problem is that the population … has increased quickly because of the Syrian crisis.” Of the 10 million people living in the country, only 6.5 million are Jordanians, he said.

“The increase happened at a much quicker pace than we were able to deal with,” said Al-Abadi. “We had an effective railroad system during the Ottoman period, and now we need to revisit this important means of transportation both for local and regional cooperation and the ability of easily moving people and goods.”

Politically, Al-Abadi predicted that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict would not be a priority in the current round of talks. Al-Abadi calls himself a pan-Arabist, adding that Palestine is a unifying issue for Arabs. “For me Palestine is the key. I support everyone who supports Palestine.”

 

 

According to Al-Abadi, it is not clear “whether they will agree on having Israel be part of the coalition against Iran, or whether the emphasis will be solely on helping US President Biden in his domestic problems, especially the need to increase production of oil in order to stem the results of the rise in gasoline prices in the United States.”

Al-Abadi spoke candidly to Arab News about the strengths and weaknesses of Jordan. “Our balanced foreign policy is effective and efficient, but we need help in having similar success in our domestic issues, especially in terms of our economy.”

On the subject of inter-Arab trade, Abadi explained that “we buy less than 10 percent from each other. We should all be buying more Saudi and Egyptian and Jordanian and Palestinian … products. We need a common market. Why is Europe which had world wars and has different languages and cultures able to have a common market, while we talk but do nothing to make it happen?”




Former Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister Mamdouh Al-Abadi. (Supplied)

Jordan, similar to its Saudi neighbor, is in the process of implementing new modernizing reforms. As the country begins to apply recommendations of the Royal Commission on Political Modernization, which will see the country run by a government consisting of elected parties, Al-Abadi is concerned that “no restrictions will be placed on the choices that the elected government will decide on.”

Al-Abadi, though, is certain that Arab unity is a vital goal. “A vacuum invites outside parties to intervene in our affairs; if we unite, our individual countries will be stronger and collectively we can be stronger.”

He remains confident Jordan and Saudi Arabia would be able to forge ahead after the crown prince’s visit to Jordan. “It is important that this ice-breaking visit is followed up by more visits in both directions. Our unity as Arabs is the most important weapon we have, and we need to strengthen our home front as Arabs to defend ourselves from external forces.”

Jordanian Senator Mohammad Momani also sees the bilateral and regional significance of the crown prince’s visit. “On the bilateral level, different files are due to be discussed, including investment, transportation energy, and other bilateral issues. All of them will be discussed directly and frankly by officials from both countries,” he told Arab News.

Momani, who served as the Jordanian minister of media affairs in successive past governments, highlighted the depth of the two countries’ relationship. “Needless to say, the relationship is very deep. Jordan sees eye to eye with Saudi Arabia and the Saudis see the importance of Jordan in regional and international issues,” he explained.




Senator Mohammad Momani. (Supplied)

“We have the same positions on the importance of a strategic alliance,” he continued, adding that “our common history in the area and our friendly brotherly relationship are the cornerstones of the discussions on the bilateral level.”

On the regional level, Momani believes that the discussions will include talks about the Palestinian issue, and the need for a significant push for the peace process which is crucial for regional stability and security. He added that “the issue of Iran will certainly be discussed and opinions will be honestly exchanged.”

He said it was important to have talks on critical issues because of the upcoming regional gathering with Biden, “and so it is extremely significant to have that discussion ahead of the summit to coordinate positions beforehand.”

“Jordan is committed to peace and security and is committed to using its status to defend Arab positions; we have done that before and we will continue to do that. His Majesty King Abdullah will use his ability and contacts to support our closest allies Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.”


Lebanese PM to visit Syria, discuss disappearance of prisoners

Updated 13 April 2025
Follow

Lebanese PM to visit Syria, discuss disappearance of prisoners

  • Nawaf Salam lays wreath at Martyrs’ Monument in Beirut to commemorate 50th anniversary of Lebanese Civil War

LONDON: Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam is scheduled to visit the Syrian Arab Republic on Monday to discuss common interests with the new leadership in Damascus.

It will be Salam’s first visit to Syria since he formed a government in February, and he is scheduled to discuss the issue of Lebanese citizens who disappeared in Syrian prisons during the Bashar Assad regime that collapsed in December. It has been reported that 622 Lebanese nationals remain forcibly disappeared in Syrian prisons.

“I hope to return with good news about those missing in Syria, and I will update the Lebanese people on this issue tomorrow,” Salam said, according to the National News Agency.

Salam laid a wreath at the Martyrs’ Monument in Beirut on Sunday to commemorate the anniversary of April 13, the date when Lebanon’s Civil War began in 1975.

Salam wrote on X: “We pause not to reopen wounds, but to recall lessons that must never be forgotten. All victories were false, and all parties (from the war) emerged as losers.”

He added: “There can be no true state unless legitimate armed forces have the exclusive right to bear arms.”


Aid worker missing after deadly attack on colleagues is held by Israel, ICRC says

PRCS paramedic Assad Al-Nsasrah is being held in an Israeli place of detention. (@PalestineRCS)
Updated 13 April 2025
Follow

Aid worker missing after deadly attack on colleagues is held by Israel, ICRC says

  • PRCS demanded the immediate release of Nsasrah, who it said was “forcibly abducted” while carrying out humanitarian duties

CAIRO: A Palestinian Red Crescent staff member who went missing in late March when 15 humanitarian workers were killed by Israeli fire is being detained by Israeli authorities, the rescue service and the Red Cross said on Sunday.
Hisham Mhana, the spokesperson for the ICRC in Gaza, confirmed to Reuters that it had received information that the Palestine Red Crescent Society paramedic Assad Al-Nsasrah was being held in an Israeli place of detention.
“As per standard practice, we informed the families immediately. In this case, we also informed the Palestine Red Crescent Society as they have special standing as a partner of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement,” he said.
The Israeli army did not immediately comment.
Mhana said the ICRC has not been granted access to Nsasrah, who until Sunday had been declared missing, and also has not been able to visit any of the Palestinian detainees and prisoners in Israeli jails since October 7, 2023.
In a post on X, The PRCS demanded the immediate release of Nsasrah, who it said was “forcibly abducted” while carrying out humanitarian duties.
It added that Nsasrah and his colleagues came under heavy gunfire, which led to the killing of eight of them in a “grave violation” of international humanitarian law.
The bodies of 15 emergency and aid workers from the Red Crescent, the Civil Emergency Service and the UN were found buried in a mass grave in southern Gaza in March.
The UN and the Red Crescent accused Israeli forces of killing them after they were dispatched to respond to reports of injuries from Israeli airstrikes.
The Israeli military referred Reuters to its statement from Monday, in which it said that a thorough inquiry into the incident was still underway and that it would provide further details only once the investigation is complete.
It said that a preliminary inquiry indicated that “the troops opened fire due to a perceived threat following a previous encounter in the area, and that six of the individuals killed in the incident were identified as Hamas terrorists.”
The Israeli military has provided no evidence of how it determined that the six were Hamas militants, and the Islamist faction has rejected the accusation.
The only known survivor of the incident, PRCS paramedic Munther Abed, said soldiers had opened fire on clearly marked emergency response vehicles.


Moroccans demonstrate in support of Palestinians

Updated 13 April 2025
Follow

Moroccans demonstrate in support of Palestinians

  • Demonstrators marched through the streets of Rabat under pouring rain in response to a call from the National Action Group for Palestine

RABAT: Several thousand people demonstrated in Morocco’s capital on Sunday to show support for Palestinians in war-torn Gaza.
Under pouring rain, demonstrators marched through the streets of Rabat in response to a call from the National Action Group for Palestine, a coalition of several political organizations, including the Islamist Justice and Development Party (PJD).
“The Moroccans are with Gaza,” said the principal of a private school in Rabat who spoke to AFP.
The North African kingdom has officially called for “the immediate, complete and permanent halt to the Israeli war on Gaza,” but has not publicly discussed reversing the official establishment of ties with Israel in 2020 as part of the US-led Abraham Accords.
The latest protest followed another large rally held a week earlier, part of a spate of demonstrations across the country since the Israeli army resumed its offensive on March 18 against the Islamist group Hamas after a two-month truce in Gaza.


Israel denies entry to Jerusalem for Palestinian Christians marking Palm Sunday

Updated 13 April 2025
Follow

Israel denies entry to Jerusalem for Palestinian Christians marking Palm Sunday

  • Israeli restrictions at checkpoints around Jerusalem require Palestinians to obtain security permits to access religious sites
  • Only 6,000 permits were issued this year to the West Bank’s 50,000 Christians

LONDON: Israeli authorities prevented Palestinian Christian worshippers from entering Jerusalem from the occupied West Bank to participate in Palm Sunday.

Israeli authorities imposed strict restrictions on Jerusalem over the weekend, limiting the access of Palestinian Christians to the city, the Wafa news agency reported.

Only a limited number of worshippers, primarily residents of Jerusalem and Palestinian citizens of Israel, were able to attend religious services at Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Wafa added.

Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week leading up to Easter. It commemorates the entry of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem and is observed by Eastern and Western Christian churches.

On Sunday, Patriarch Theophilos III of the Greek Orthodox Church and Latin Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa led liturgies attended by the clergy and a small group of worshipers.

Israeli restrictions at checkpoints around Jerusalem require Palestinians — Muslim and Christian — to obtain permits to access religious sites, including the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

Father Ibrahim Faltas, Vicar of the Custody of the Holy Land, noted that only 6,000 permits were issued this year to the West Bank’s 50,000 Christians. Permit issuance requires a security clearance and often asks that applicants download a mobile application managed by Israeli authorities.

“This is the second consecutive year that only a small number of pilgrims are able to participate in Holy Week and Easter celebrations in Jerusalem due to the ongoing conflict (in Gaza),” Faltas told Wafa.

“Churches would continue to pray for peace, justice, and freedom for all people in the Holy Land,” he added.

The Catholic Palm Sunday procession took place on Sunday afternoon, starting from Jerusalem's Church of Bethphage and ending at the Church of Saint Anne.

Christians gathered for services at the Holy Family Catholic Church and Saint Porphyrius Greek Orthodox Church in the Gaza Strip amid the ongoing Israeli attacks since late 2023. In the West Bank, Palm Sunday services were held in churches throughout Bethlehem, Jericho, Ramallah, Nablus, and Jenin.


Syrian President Sharaa heads to UAE on official visit - SANA

Updated 13 April 2025
Follow

Syrian President Sharaa heads to UAE on official visit - SANA

CAIRO: Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa will travel to the United Arab Emirates for his second visit to a Gulf state as president on Sunday, Syria's official news agency reported.
He will be accompanied by foreign minister Assad al-Shibani, who visited the UAE earlier this year.
They are expected to discuss issues of mutual interest, the SANA state news agency reported.
Sharaa visited Saudi Arabia in February on his first foreign trip since assuming the presidency in January.
His visit to the UAE comes as the new Syrian leadership attempts to strengthen ties with Arab and Western leaders following the fall of Bashar al-Assad in December at the hands of Sharaa's Sunni Islamist group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham.

 

(With Reuters)