BICOM

Foreign Secretary William Hague discussed regional issues during talks with King Abdullah of Jordan yesterday in London.

A statement following the meeting noted that the pair agreed that ‘urgent steps’ need to be taken by the Israelis and Palestinians to move the peace process forward. The also spoke on the necessity of ending the violence in Syria and the need for a ‘genuine political process’.

Whilst talks on Iran’s nuclear programme were getting underway in Moscow, the two expressed hope that Tehran would engage in ‘detailed discussion on the proposals that the E3+3 [p5+1] had put forward.’ The negotiating teams of Iran and the P5+1 (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany) arrived in Moscow Sunday for the third round of talks over Tehran’s contentious nuclear programme.

For his part, King Abdullah outlined progress in instituting reforms ‘to meet the aspirations of the Jordanian people for greater political participation, economic opportunity and transparency.’ Hague welcomed the creation of the Independent Electoral Commission and the intention of holding ‘inclusive, free and fair’ elections by the end of the year.

The Foreign Secretary welcomed Jordan’s cooperation in facilitating the return of Abu Qatada – a Palestinian of Jordanian citizenship with alleged affiliation to al-Qaeda.

In a statement following the meeting Hague said: ‘Jordan and the UK are longstanding friends and allies and the relationship between our countries continues to thrive.’

The talks were also attended by the Home Secretary the Rt Hon Theresa May MP, the Minister for the Middle East Alistair Burt MP, and the Foreign Minister of Jordan Nasser Judeh.