His Majesty King Abdullah and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton on Sunday examined means to boost cooperation between the Kingdom and the EU and discussed the latest regional developments.

During a meeting with the visiting EU official, King Abdullah stressed Jordan’s solid partnership with EU countries and the Kingdom’s commitment to boosting them in various fields.

He also commended EU support for Jordan’s reform and development programmes.

His Majesty highlighted the country’s reform process at the political, economic and social levels, and various measures to entrench democracy and expand the base of public participation in decision-making.

Ashton commended the country’s reform efforts led by the King and his continued endeavours to achieve peace in the region, noting that the EU will continue to coordinate with Jordan to strengthen their partnership and cooperation and deal with the various challenges facing the region, in a manner that fosters its security and stability.

Regarding the Syrian conflict, His Majesty reiterated the Kingdom’s support for a political transition solution to the crisis, in a manner that safeguards the unity of Syria, its territory and people and eliminates the grave repercussions of the crisis on the entire region.

The King highlighted the large burdens borne by the Kingdom by hosting an estimated 560,000 Syrian refugees, noting that this number exceeds the Kingdom’s humanitarian capabilities.

His Majesty lauded the support provided by EU countries to the Kingdom to assist the refugees, adding that any financial support should be relative to the size of the burdens that Jordan faces in light of the increasing influx of refugees. Lady Ashton commended the relief services offered by the Kingdom to Syrian refugees, stressing EU commitment to providing assistance to Jordan to enable it to continue offering humanitarian services to them.

The King and Ashton discussed efforts to end the stalemate in Middle East peace talks, in a bid to resolve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on the basis of the 1967 borders and in accordance with the two-state solution, stressing the importance of the European role in supporting peace efforts and making use of all available opportunities to achieve a comprehensive and just peace.

Reiterating the centrality of the Palestinian issue, His Majesty said the continuation of Israel’s settlement policy and its aggressive acts against holy sites in Jerusalem are undermining the peace process.