Lower House Speaker, Ahmad Safadi, on Wednesday lauded as “strategic and historical” the Jordanian-British ties, which marked its second centennial in 2021. Safadi gave his remarks in meetings with Speaker of the British House of Commons, Lindsay Hoyle, and Lord Speaker of the House of Lords, John McFall. These meetings were part of the official visit Safadi is making to the United Kingdom, accompanied by MPs Ghazi Thneibat, Khaled Abu Hassan, Dina Al-Bashir, and Hayel Ayyash, and attended by Jordan’s Ambassador to the UK, Manar Dabbas. Safadi also met with the Jordan Committee in the British Parliament, the British Parliamentary Union Group, and the International Development Committee in the House of Commons. Safadi briefed British officials on political, economic and administrative modernization tracks that were devised through a national project that His Majesty King Abdullah sought to begin the Kingdom’s second centennial. Safadi pointed out to the sharp and serious decline in support for Syrian refugees, and the importance of assuming responsibilities towards refugees and host countries by the international community. Safadi also briefed his British counterpart on latest regional developments, and Jordan’s constructive role under the wise leadership of His Majesty King Abdullah, as a pillar of regional security and stability. He underlined that Palestine remains the central cause, and that the region will not enjoy stability unless a comprehensive and just solution is found, most importantly the establishment of a Palestinian state. He added that Jordan, based on its historical Hashemite custodianship, continues to protect and safeguard Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, counter the ongoing Israeli occupation attempts aimed at changing the character of the Holy City and its Arab, Islamic and Christian identity, change the city’s existing historical and legal status quo, and impose a temporal and spatial division on the Holy Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al Haram Al Sharif. He urged the international community, including the United Kingdom, to pressure Israel to immediately stop its unilateral measures that undermine all opportunities for just and comprehensive peace in the region. Safadi said that the Kingdom is looking forward to bolster Jordanian-British ties, and building on a rich legacy of partnership and friendship between the two countries, at all levels. Parliamentary relations between the two sides have seen clear effectiveness during the last two years, with Jordan hosting many British parliamentary delegations, Safadi stressed. The Speaker of the House of Commons held an official reception honoring the Lower House Speaker and the accompanying delegation at the Palace of Westminster, in the presence of a number of lords, representatives, British officials, and members of the diplomatic corps in London.

Source: Jordan News Agency