S’pore, Jordan reaffirm ties, sign agreements on youth development and technical training
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Jordan Crown Prince Al Hussein Bin Abdullah II calling on PM Lee Hsien Loong at the Istana on Jan 12.
PHOTO: MCI
Follow topic:
SINGAPORE – Singapore and Jordan will expand bilateral cooperation to new areas, following Jordan Crown Prince Al Hussein Bin Abdullah II’s three-day official visit here,
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Prince Hussein witnessed the symbolic exchange of six agreements signed on the sidelines of the visit, for the two sides to work together in youth development, environmental management, vocational and technical training, civil service training, and halal food certification and standardisation.
PM Lee then hosted Prince Hussein to lunch, where the leaders reaffirmed the warm ties between both sides, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) on Jan 12.
MFA said Prince Hussein made separate calls on President Tharman Shanmugaratnam and PM Lee following a ceremonial welcome at the Istana on the morning of Jan 12. The leaders had useful exchanges on developments in the Middle East, including the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, it added.
At their lunch, PM Lee said that Singapore and Jordan share a common interest as two small states to promote multilateralism and a rules-based global order.
The two countries cooperate in many areas, such as capacity building under the Asia-Middle East Dialogue framework, he noted. Singapore’s 2005 free trade agreement with Jordan is the Republic’s first with a Middle East country.
PM Lee noted that Jordan’s King Abdullah II – Prince Hussein’s father – gave the keynote speech at the first International Conference on Cohesive Societies in 2019,
His message on the importance of inter-faith dialogue for building cohesive societies resonated deeply with Singaporeans, said PM Lee. The King’s state visits in 2004, 2014 and 2019
Prince Hussein said the two countries’ relations are deeply rooted in common values, and that he was glad to witness greater cooperation between both sides.
On the situation in the Middle East, he noted that both Jordan and Singapore share the common position that a two-state solution is the way forward.
Jordan appreciated Singapore’s vote in favour of the Jordan-led United Nations General Assembly resolution for an immediate, durable and sustained humanitarian truce in Gaza, and the Republic’s support for humanitarian relief efforts in Gaza, he added.
“Shoulder to shoulder with allies and friends, Jordan is sparing no effort towards regional peace and security,” said Prince Hussein.
In a Jan 12 Facebook post, PM Lee said Singapore is deeply distressed by the massive human suffering and loss of civilian lives in Gaza, and supports an immediate humanitarian ceasefire
President Tharman also posted about his meeting with Prince Hussein, where they both agreed on the urgent need to stop the immense loss of lives of Palestinian civilians and to prevent famine and disease caused by the loss of hospitals and sanitation, and throttling of essential supplies.
“I expressed appreciation for Jordan’s active efforts to secure greater delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza’s civilian population,” said Mr Tharman.
“Crown Prince Al Hussein and I also agreed that the longer the war and more the deaths of civilians, the harder it will be to find a path to lasting peace.”
During the visit, his first to Singapore, Prince Hussein also attended a Jordan business information and communications technology event and visited the Institute of Technical Education College Central and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.
