The long-standing Jordanian-EU relations have been consistent, steadily improving over the years.
Recently, these ties have witnessed another milestone that testifies to this very fruitful partnership and gives hope to the Jordanian public that, despite the harsh economic conditions worsened by the consequences of COVID-19, the country can rely on its European friends to extend a helping hand, while Europe can always rely on Jordan as a peace maker, and a country that is proactive when it comes to protecting world peace and supporting intercultural understanding.
اضافة اعلان
The latest development was His Majesty King Abdullah’s meeting, late last month, with European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi, which covered “cooperation between Jordan and the European Union, as well as the latest regional developments”.
On the backdrop of this visit, it was announced that over the next seven years, the EU, in coordination with Jordan, plans “to mobilize at least 2.5 billion euros in private and public investments, while an additional amount of funding will be made available to help Jordan bear the burden of hosting Syrian refugees”.
As part of its Economic Investment Plan for the Southern Neighbors, the union will also support Jordan’s post-COVID recovery efforts and regional projects.
King Abdullah “thanked the EU for supporting Jordan’s development and reform programs, stressing the Kingdom’s keenness to expand its partnership with the European Union”, according to the Royal Court.
Jordan has clearly earned the EU support and trust. Commissioner Várhelyi “commended Jordan’s efforts in hosting refugees, while stressing the Kingdom’s key role in promoting regional stability and security”.
In a statement published earlier by the Delegation of the European Union to Jordan, Várhelyi described Jordan as a “key partner for the EU” and highlighted one important step forward in the relationships, plans to establish an EU-Jordan Investment Platform to support “flagship projects jointly agreed between the EU and Jordan, such as the Aqaba-Amman water desalination and conveyance project and the King Hussein Bridge. It will also constitute an important forum to trigger further investments for targeted sustainable projects, and support the country’s process of socioeconomic modernization”.
The wise leadership of our country, and its deep-rooted and consistent foreign policy have helped Jordan make great strides in serving its strategic interests through partnerships with the right players.
Apart from the development of ties with Europe, Jordan’s relations with the US have also witnessed great progress after a turbulent period during the former US administration’s term in office. Under the new administration of President Joe Biden, Jordan has successfully reset its relations with the US and placed them back on the right track, which enabled Jordan to resume its key, stabilizing, and balanced regional role.
The Amman-Cairo-Baghdad summit earlier this year is an illustration of Jordan’s policy of fruitful cooperation. Jordan, Egypt, and Iraq held a summit in the summer that was seen as a historic game changer. As put by scholars Katherine Harvey and Bruce Riedel, “economic cooperation lies at the heart of the trilateral relationship. ... And in the longer term, the new partnership potentially heralds a far more ambitious project to bring together not just Egypt, Iraq and Jordan, but the countries of the Levant more broadly”.
Adding to this mix the reforms Jordan is carrying out at political, economic, and administrative levels, one can rest assured that the march toward a better future for Jordanians is promising.
Our friends in the EU and the US are there to help, while our Arab partners, who share the same challenges, also believe that the solution lies in synergy.
With all of that happening, what is needed is for all of us to believe, in words as well as in deeds, in our unshakable ability to build a better future.
The writer is a former advisor at the Royal Hashemite Court, a former director of media and communication at the Office of His Majesty King Abdullah II, and works as a senior advisor for business development at Al-Ghad News and Jordan News.
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