On September 11, President Park Geun-hye and King Abdullah II Ibn Al Hussein of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan held a summit at Cheong Wa Dae.
They discussed recent regional affairs and measures to boost bilateral cooperation in the international arena as well as in a wide range of areas, including counterterrorism efforts, the defense industry, the economy and trade, construction and energy, development cooperation, culture and education.
Welcoming him on his sixth visit to Korea, President Park expressed the hope that his visit this time would serve as a catalyst for Korea and Jordan to grow closer as partners based on trust and friendship that have deepened over the past half century. President Park noted in particular that Jordan, under the leadership of King Abdullah II, had responded to ISIL’s acts of barbarism and accepted more than 600,000 Syrian refugees, which has been favorably reviewed by Korea and the international community.
President Park pointed to the fact that the two countries had something in common; even though they are faced with a difficult security environment and have scant natural resources, they have successfully met such challenges with excellent human resources and devised similar national development strategies. For this reason, President Park said there would be many potential areas for bilateral cooperation. King Abdullah II responded by saying that his several visits to Korea had left him with good impressions of the country and that he looked forward to a continued deepening of friendly cooperative ties between the two nations.
Complimenting Jordan on actively participating in the international efforts to tackle extremist terrorism, President Park expressed the hope that Jordan, a reservoir of information on the situation in the Middle East, would be willing to share its intelligence on counterterrorism with Korea. King Abdullah II responded that Jordan was actively addressing terrorist threats posed by ISIL and expressed the hope that bilateral cooperation for intelligence exchanges to combat terrorism would further expand.
President Park noted the steady increase in bilateral trade, which already surpassed US$1 billion in 2009, despite unstable situations in the region surrounding Jordan. She said that, considering the economic complementarity between the two countries, she looked forward to many cooperative projects being identified in such areas as energy, construction and healthcare, which would create synergy. King Abdullah II explained in response that Jordan was about to launch a project in power generation and new and renewable energy in the amount of US$24 billion and asked for the participation of many Korean businesses.
President Park gave high marks to the Jordanian Government`s energy policy and expressed the hope that an MOU to be signed this time would serve as a basis to promote the sharing of technology and knowledge, exchanges of professionals and cooperation in training, thereby making contributions to progress in the Jordanian energy industry. Mentioning electric vehicles used by some public institutions in his country, King Abdullah II asked for cooperation in the electric vehicle industry.
Noting that Korean businesses have gained rich experiences and accumulated technology in infrastructure construction suitable to local demand, the President hoped for the expansion of cooperation in such projects in Jordan.
Describing Jordan as a medical hub in the Middle East with advanced facilities and unmatched services, the President said she looked forward to mutually beneficial cooperation in the days to come in medical services and equipment as well as in the production of medicines. In response, King Abdullah II explained his country`s plan to finalize a computerization project for telemedicine by 2016. Speaking of the sector`s bright future, which was evidenced by the interest many countries have shown, the King expressed the hope that Korea, a front-runner in medicine, would advance into this sector.
President Park said that development cooperation projects in education, public health and medicine and public administration were having significant results thanks to the Jordanian Government`s interest and support. She went on to express the hope that cooperation in these areas would go a long way toward promoting economic growth in Jordan.
In addition, President Park said she was pleased that people-to-people exchanges, the vital foundation for progress in bilateral relations, were on the continued rise, coupled with an expansion of cultural interaction. The President next expressed the hope that the visa-waiver agreement for diplomats, which had been signed this time, would serve as an institutional framework for further vitalization of people-to-people exchanges.
President Park gave a high evaluation of the two nations` close cooperation in dealing with important issues while serving as the non-permanent members of the UN Security Council in 2014, adding that she looked forward to constructive cooperation with regards to various issues, including terrorism, violent extremism, human rights and the North Korean nuclear problem.
The summit this time constituted an opportunity to reconfirm traditionally friendly and cooperative ties between Korea and Jordan over half a century and seek ways to expand cooperation in various sectors from a forward-looking standpoint. In this regard, it is expected to serve as a great opportunity for Korea to further deepen ties with Jordan, the gateway to the Levant, which will help facilitate the advance into the Middle East.
