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Spain Urges Jordanian King to Seize Opportunity for Peace
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero told Jordan’s King Abdullah II on Wednesday that in the Middle East at present the necessary conditions exist to “take a definitive step toward peace, (an opportunity) which cannot be wasted.”
Zapatero met with Abdullah after the Jordanian met in private with King Juan Carlos at Zarzuela Palace, where the Spanish monarch and his wife, Queen Sofia, hosted him at a luncheon.
During his discussion with Abdullah, the premier reaffirmed Spain’s support for the resumption of Middle East negotiations, for the recognition of the Palestinian state as a result of a negotiated two-state solution and for providing the Palestinian National Authority with “political as well as financial support” so that it may undertake its peace program.
Zapatero also told King Abdullah that Spain, during its stint in the rotating presidency of the European Union from January through June, will work to present a draft of the new EU-Jordan Action Plan “which will include arrangements regarding the Jordanian negotiation proposal for an advanced statute.”
In the bilateral area, the two men discussed ways that they could increase economic cooperation between their two countries and, in this context, Zapatero emphasized the world leadership of Spanish firms in sectors such as renewable energy and transportation.
Spain and Jordan have excellent relations, which – among other things – are favored by the traditional links between the Spanish Crown and the Hashemite monarchy.
Latin American Herald Tribune