Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani on Tuesday held a meeting with King Abdullah II of Jordan and discussed bilateral relations, situation in the region and Middle East and agreed to further enhance their ties in diverse fields. They also emphasised the need to promote ties in the fields of defence, economic and trade. The meeting on the sidelines of the second Nuclear Security Summit was held here in a very cordial and friendly atmosphere.
Prime Minister Gilani emphasised the need to further enhancing these brotherly and friendly bilateral relations between the two countries. Referring to the Free Trade Agreement and Currency Swap Agreement between the two countries, the PM said those should be finalised at the earliest as it would give boost to trade and economic activities between the two countries.
King Abdullah agreed to this proposal and told the PM that a minister from Jordan would be in touch with his counterpart in Pakistan to further negotiate on the mechanism of FTA and Currency Swap Agreement. The PM said he would send the Chairman of Board of Investment and members of Chambers of Commerce from Pakistan to Jordan to explore the new avenues for promoting trade and economic activities especially in textile sector.
Gilani said co-operation in defence production between the two countries should be enhanced as the two countries had excellent track record in defence co-operation. The PM said the two countries had commonalities in history, culture and religion and those were the strong bonds for brotherly relations between the two countries.
Gilani thanked Jordan for extending its support to Pakistan to win the membership of the Security Council of the Untied Nations, and thanked King Abdullah for extending financial assistance during the earthquake and the two floods in Pakistan and in the process of rehabilitation of the internally displaced persons. The PM said Pakistan was looking forward to welcome King Abdullah to Pakistan for which President had extended an invitation to him.
He said President Zardari had also visited Jordan in October 2011 and he himself also visited Jordan to attend the World Economic Forum. He also discussed the strategic partnership which was agreed between Pakistan and Jordan during the visit of President Zardari to Jordan.
Gilani said, "We enjoy very close defence relations and co-operation between our two countries." The PM said Joint Ministerial Commission should be made more active to follow the decisions taken at the official level between the two countries to promote trade and economic ties.
Gilani said the depth of relations between two countries was not reflecting in the trade volume and efforts should be made to improve the volume of trade to make it compatible to these ties. King Abdullah sought Pakistan's co-operation in the fields of education, health, economy and especially in capacity building. The King also apprised the Prime Minister about the situation in Middle East and thanked Pakistan for expressing solidarity with Arab world.
Gilani told King Abdullah that Pakistan always extended its support for the legitimate rights of Palestine. He said Pakistan provided excellent opportunities for investment and Jordanian businessmen might take advantage of those facilities. Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, Pakistan's Ambassador to the United States Sherry Rehman and member National Assembly Samsan Ali Bokhari were also present in the meeting of PM Gilani with the King Abdullah II of Jordan.
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