Jordan King: Mideast won’t see stability or prosperity without an independent Palestinian state

SMA NEWS – JEDDAH
JEDDAH — King Abdullah II Bin Al-Hussein of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan on Saturday stressed that there can be no security, stability, nor prosperity in the region without a solution guaranteeing the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the June 4, 1967 lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital, living side-by-side with Israel in peace and security.

It is my pleasure to start by thanking my brother Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, for the gracious invitation, the warm welcome, and the hosting of this well-organized summit.

Mr. President, Thank you for your participation in this summit. Your presence today is a testament to the United States’ dedication to the stability of our region and our close and historic partnership. It underlines your leading role and efforts to bolster regional security and support peace and prosperity.

Your majesties, highnesses, excellencies, we meet today as our region and the world face multiple challenges, from the economic repercussions of the COVID pandemic, and the ramifications of the Ukrainian crisis on energy and food, to the continuous conflicts that our region suffers from.

Therefore, we must examine opportunities for cooperation and collective action, in pursuit of regional integration in food security, energy, transport, and water.

We in Jordan are keen on transforming these opportunities into real partnerships in the region, by capitalizing on our historical and deep-rooted ties with Gulf Cooperation Council countries, and our brothers in Egypt and Iraq, in service of the interests of our peoples. We embark on these efforts out of our belief that the only way forward is through collective action.

For we in Jordan continue to host over one million Syrian refugees, providing them with various humanitarian, health, and education services, while also countering the renewed security threats on our borders, by thwarting attempts to smuggle drugs and weapons, which now pose a major threat to the entire region.

We shoulder these responsibilities on behalf of the international community, which must carry on with its role in countering the impact of the refugee crisis on refugees and host communities.

Your majesties, highnesses, excellencies, to ensure the success of the regional partnerships that we seek, economic cooperation must include our brothers in the Palestinian National Authority.

And here, we must reaffirm the importance of reaching a just and comprehensive solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, on the basis of the two-state solution; for there can be no security, stability, nor prosperity in the region without a solution guaranteeing the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the June 4, 1967 lines, with East Jerusalem as its capital, living side-by-side with Israel in peace and security.

In conclusion, I again thank my brother Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for their great efforts to enhance this cooperation and coordination, in service of our region and our world.

And I thank President Biden, once again, for his ongoing efforts to work towards peace, security, and prosperity in our region and our world.