King holds talks with India PM

His Majesty King Abdullah II on Monday held talks with India Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Al Husseiniya Palace, during which they discussed ways to expand cooperation between Jordan and India.

His Majesty welcomed the prime minister’s visit to the Kingdom, which presents an important opportunity to chart new paths for economic cooperation across various sectors, including industry and information technology.

During the talks, attended by Prime Minister Jafar Hassan, the King highlighted the strong partnership, spanning more than 75 years, between the two countries, and noted the importance of the cooperation agreements and memorandums of understanding that will be exchanged during the visit.

Speaking about the Jordan-India business forum, scheduled to take place in Amman on Tuesday, His Majesty described it as an opportunity to discuss ways to develop trade cooperation, attract investment, and build stronger partnerships between the two countries in vital areas.

For his part, Prime Minister Modi expressed his gratitude to the King for the warm reception, saying “on behalf of 1.4 billion Indians, I express my heartfelt gratitude to you for the very warm welcome extended to me and my delegation”.

He added that his visit would contribute to deepening relations between the two countries, emphasising keenness to continue strengthening bilateral cooperation in areas such as trade, fertilisers, digital technology, and infrastructure.

Prime Minister Modi also praised His Majesty’s role in the region, particularly the King’s positive efforts related to developments in Gaza, stressing the need to achieve peace and stability in the region.

Discussions also covered regional developments, and efforts to restore stability in the region and the need to respect the sovereignty of states.

The need to step up the humanitarian response in Gaza and ensure implementation of the agreement to end the war on the Strip was also discussed.

On the sidelines of the visit, the governments of Jordan and India are due to sign memorandums of understanding on renewable energy and water resource management, a cultural exchange programme, a letter of intent on cooperation in the field of digital transformation, and a twinning agreement between the city of Petra and the Ellora Caves site in India.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, Director of the Office of His Majesty Alaa Batayneh, Minister of Industry, Trade, and Supply and Escort of Honour Yarub Qudah, India’s Ambassador to Jordan Manish Chauhan, and the accompanying Indian delegation attended the talks.