Jordan has open channels with all players in the region and does not rely on relations with just one, King Abdullah II said on Sunday in rare public remarks on foreign policy.
The official news agency quoted the king as telling a meeting of former Jordanian prime ministers in Amman that Jordan was “sustaining its communication network and ties with everyone in the region and does not rely on one party”.
He said this policy aims to “diversify the choices” and achieve the kingdom's strategic goals. He identified Iraq, Egypt and the UAE as countries with which Jordan is building “foundations for political and economic co-operation”.
The king, who is 60, holds all significant powers in the kingdom of 10 million people and charts its foreign policy.
Jordan has sought to play a more assertive regional role in the last two years, having felt undermined by US policy that focused on promoting Arab normalisation with Israel.
Jordan has become more vocal in its criticism of Israel for its actions against the Palestinians.
A large proportion of Jordan's population are descendants of Palestinians who fled their homes when Israel was created in 1948.
The kingdom then administered the East Jerusalem and the West Bank until they were seized by Israel in the 1967 Arab-Israeli conflict.
In the past two years, Jordan has sought to assert custodianship rights over the Al Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem, a focal point of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that sparked a war between Israel and Hamas in 2021 and came near to causing another this year.
King Abdullah, who met US President Joe Biden in Washington this month, said he expected “diplomatic moves in the coming phase”.
“Jordan will a part of them to support the causes of the region and to preserve its interests,” he said.
The kingdom has been strengthening ties with the UAE, which normalised relations with Israel in 2020, and has made overtures to Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi of Iraq.
Jordan's relations with Baghdad have been volatile since the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein and ushered in a series of governments led by prime ministers from Shiite religious parties supported by Iran.
Its relations with Saudi Arabia also cooled after the authorities in Amman jailed a Jordanian adviser to King Salman on sedition allegations. The adviser, economist Bassem Awadallah, denies the charges.
In a sign of possible improvement of ties with Riyadh, Saudi sources quoted by Reuters said Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was expected to make a regional tour next month that will include Jordan.
King Abdullah II visits the US — in pictures
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Match info
Premier League
Manchester United 2 (Martial 30', Lingard 69')
Arsenal 2 (Mustafi 26', Rojo 68' OG)
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ICC men's cricketer of the year
2004 - Rahul Dravid (IND) ; 2005 - Jacques Kallis (SA) and Andrew Flintoff (ENG); 2006 - Ricky Ponting (AUS); 2007 - Ricky Ponting; 2008 - Shivnarine Chanderpaul (WI); 2009 - Mitchell Johnson (AUS); 2010 - Sachin Tendulkar (IND); 2011 - Jonathan Trott (ENG); 2012 - Kumar Sangakkara (SL); 2013 - Michael Clarke (AUS); 2014 - Mitchell Johnson; 2015 - Steve Smith (AUS); 2016 - Ravichandran Ashwin (IND); 2017 - Virat Kohli (IND); 2018 - Virat Kohli; 2019 - Ben Stokes (ENG); 2021 - Shaheen Afridi
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Ultra processed foods
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Maestro
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