The two-day official visit of the Jordanian monarch Abdullah II to the Sultanate of Oman crystallises in the signing of seven cooperation documents and two other executive programmes in the fields of research and tourism

Jordan and Oman boost relations, sign seven Memoranda of Understanding

photo_camera PHOTO/TWITTER via @RHCJO - Jordanian King Abdullah II and Omani Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said hold bilateral talks during the official visit of the Hashemite monarch. The meeting at the Al Alam Palace was also attended by Crown Prince Al Hussein

United by a twinning agreement dating back to 1994 - and connecting the two capitals by fostering their cultural and human relations - Amman and Muscat have taken another step forward in bilateral cooperation. This was evidenced by the official visit of the Hashemite monarch, Abdullah II bin Hussein, to the Arabian country on 4-5 October at the direct invitation of the Omani Sultan, Haitham bin Tariq Al Said.

"The two leaders reaffirmed the distinguished bilateral ties between Jordan and Oman, and called for the promotion of trade and cooperation in all fields, in the service of the two countries and peoples," said the joint statement issued by the two leaders at the end of the visit.

Precisely for this purpose, the ceremonial palace of Al Al Alam witnessed the initialling by Abdullah II and Haitham bin Tariq of a total of seven Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) and two executive initiatives to be developed in the field of education and research for the period 2023-2025, and in the field of tourism cooperation between 2023 and 2026. In addition, the communiqué underlined "the important role of the Oman-Jordan Joint Committee in promoting economic cooperation between the public and private sectors of the two countries". 

Two of the memoranda focusing on economic and trade cooperation - the one on industrial cooperation and the one establishing the protection of competition and prevention of monopolies - were sealed with the signatures of Oman's Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion and Jordan's Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply. The other five agreements - on mining, cooperation for mutual interest and human capital investment, partnership in historical documentation and archives management, consumer protection, and information exchange and supervision in the insurance sector - were signed by other Omani and Jordanian ministries and authorities. 

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"The role of the private sector is central to improving the economy," said Muscat Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi, who also stressed the importance of enhancing joint investment opportunities and the exchange of business delegations. Economic and trade integration were, in short, the central axes on which the two leaders drew up a coordination plan that hopes to "define practical measures that will consolidate cooperation", as the Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Ayman al-Ṣafadī, concluded.

The historic relations between the two culturally close countries also include their common interests in international organisations of which they are both members - such as the League of Arab States and the Arab Monetary Fund - as well as their shared concern for security and stability in the region. In this regard, the Omani Sultan and the Hashemite monarch "emphasised the need to maintain coordination and consultation among Arab countries and promote economic integration," the communiqué said. 

"In addressing the centrality of the Palestinian cause," it added, "both leaders called for intensifying efforts to achieve a just and comprehensive peace, in accordance with the Arab Peace Initiative, international law and relevant UN resolutions, on the basis of the two-state solution." A proposal that was drawn on the basis of the Israeli-Palestinian borders of June 1967, following the Six-Day War, and which would leave East Jerusalem as the capital of the Hebrew state. 

In this regard, Sultan Haitham bin Tariq's speech to his Jordanian counterpart emphasised the "important role of the Hashemite Custody in safeguarding the Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem and preserving the historical and legal status quo in the holy city". Meanwhile, in response to what he described as a "warm reception and generous hospitality", Monarch Abdullah II invited the Omani Sultan to visit Jordan.

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