By Jordan Times AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Tuesday
received the Lebanese President Michel Aoun, who is on a working visit
to the Kingdom, a Royal Court statement said. Upon
arrival, an official reception ceremony, attended by ministers and
several senior officials, was held for the president at Marka Military
Airport. Later in the day, the
King and the president held a summit meeting at Basman Palace where they
discussed ways to enhance bilateral relations, regional developments
and the Syrian crisis.

His
Majesty welcomed the president and stressed “the deep- rooted and
historic ties” between Jordan and Lebanon, the statement said. During
the meeting, attended by senior officials from both countries, the two
leaders agreed to hold the meetings of the higher Jordanian-Lebanese
committee as soon as possible to increase cooperation and discuss a free
trade agreement. They also
agreed to hold a Jordanian-Lebanese forum for investment, activate the
maritime route between ports of both countries and boost cooperation in
several fields such as finance, technology, industry, agriculture, and
tourism, in addition to using Aqaba port facilities to re-export
Lebanese products to the world, especially Africa.

King
Abdullah and President Aoun also discussed cooperation in the fields of
security and civil defence, and Jordan’s contribution to the Lebanese
army capacity building. The
discussions also covered the main regional and international issues such
as the Syrian crisis, the Middle East peace process and the war on
terror. They stressed the importance of addressing the crises that face some countries in the region to retrieve stability.

As
for the Syrian crisis, they called for building on the international
efforts to sustain the ceasefire to reach a political solution in line
with Geneva understandings. They also highlighted the burdens Jordan and
Lebanon have been shouldering due to the Syrian crisis’ security,
economic and social repercussions.

 The
two leaders stressed the importance of intensifying regional and
international efforts to combat terrorism within a holistic strategy,
as, they agreed, terror is a universal threat that targets the security
and stability of all countries.

Institutionalising
pan-Arab joint action is an efficient means to overcome challenges that
face the Arab nation, the King and the president said, stressing the
significance of the Arab League summit scheduled to be held in Amman
next month.

For his part, Aoun
expressed his country’s appreciation for Jordan’s stances in support of
Lebanon and its stability, security and unity, commending His Majesty’s
role in the war on terrorist groups.

The
Lebanese president, who left later in the day, underlined the huge
burdens on Lebanon and Jordan as a result of hosting millions of Syrian
refugees, a matter which requires the international community’s support
to sustain the flow of aid and services for Syrians.

His Majesty held a launch banquet in honour of the president and the accompanying delegation.