Macedonia President visits Senate

Shaheennews –

Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov has lauded Jordan’s key humanitarian role towards the Syrian refugees during a visit he paid to the Senate for a meeting with its president Faisal al-Fayez.

Commending Jordanian-Macedonia relations, Ivanov said he is visiting to foster and push forward ties with the Kingdom and broaden cooperation in all fields.

Welcoming Ivanov, Al-Fayez said Jordan is keen on developing and advancing relations with the southeastern European country and thanked the president for his visit to the Senate.

Al-Fayez, also reviewed the current Middle East situation with a focus on Syria, the Palestinian issue and challenges facing Jordan as aresult of turbulence in the region, mainly the repercussions of the Syrian refugee crisis.

Despite being in a chaotic region, Jordan stands strong at the political and security levels, said Al-Fayez, pointing to the economic hardship the Kingdom encounters due to hosting 1.3 million Syrian refugees since the outbreak of the crisis in the neighboring Arab country.

The influx of refugees from the Syrian civil war had placed an additional financial burden on the treasury, which amounted to $10.3 billion by the end of 2017, as the international community failed to live up to its pledges to provide support to the Kingdom, he explained.

The Senate head said His Majesty King Abdullah had been an advocate of peace in the Middle East, where the Palestinian-Israeli conflict remains the core issue, and that the only avenue to resolve it is a two state-solution and relevant international legitimacy resolutions leading to the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

He also urged coordinated efforts in the war against terrorism and extremism, highlighting the highly encouraging investment environment in Jordan in various economic sectors, including renewable energy, public transportation, medical tourism and technology.