Jordan and Turkey discussed ways of establishing a new free trade agreement (FTA) on Tuesday, following the Kingdom's suspension of the previous FTA in March, the Prime Ministry reported.

The meeting was attended by Jordanian Minister of Foreign and Expatriate Affairs, Ayman Safadi, and Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply, Tariq Hammouri, and their Turkish counterparts, Mouloud Jawish Oglu and Ruhsar Pekcan.

Hammouri explained that the 2009 FTA deal was suspended because it did not deliver any of its goals, while hoping that the new agreement will be a success, based on the recommendations of the technical teams representing the two countries.

Ruhsar Pekcan,Turkey's Minister of Trade, said that a joint committee was formed so that Jordan would best benefit from the new FTA. Pekcan urged the Kingdom to offer a better investment climate to encourage businessmen from both countries to start joint ventures.

In a separate meeting, Safadi and his Turkish counterpart, Mouloud Jawish Oglu, held talks aiming at strengthening bilateral ties and discussed issues related to the Middle East, Syria and UNRWA's financial crisis.

Safadi voiced Jordan’s concern over the instability caused by the prolonged crisis in Syria and the need to reach a political solution to protect the Syrian people, as well as to encourage them to return to their homeland.

Safadi stressed that the Palestinian conflict is a critical issue for Jordan, and that it is working hard towards establishing an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Safadi talked about UNRWA’s financial crisis and how it affects the rights of five million Palestinian refugees in the area, urging the international community to shoulder their responsibility in preserving their dignity.

The Turkish Foreign Minister praised Jordan's efforts in dealing with the Palestinian cause and Jerusalem, and confirmed Turkey's support of all efforts exerted by the Kingdom in this regard, asserting that Turkey is trying to support UNRWA through its financial crisis, which resulted from the US decision to cut its financial contribution to the agency by hundreds of millions of dollars.