His Majesty King Abdullah on Thursday said the Kingdom is using all its capabilities and working in cooperation with key world powers in order to address regional challenges and safeguard both Jordanian interests and secure the region’s security and stability.

During a meeting with a group of British political, intellectual and academic leaders in London, King Abdullah highlighted the Jordanian position vis-à-vis the Syrian crisis, cautioning against its grave repercussions on neighbouring countries and the entire region.

The continued deterioration of the situation in Syria and the growing violence has increased the suffering and the humanitarian needs of the Syrian people, the King said, stressing the need for a political transition to end the crisis.

While the Kingdom is exerting huge efforts to provide relief aid to more than half-a-million Syrian refugees, it will pursue efforts in cooperation and coordination with the international community to end the crisis, in a manner that preserves the unity of Syria and its people, the King told the British leaders.

With regard to regional peace efforts, His Majesty reiterated the centrality of the Palestinian issue, stressing the need to support all efforts to provide a just and viable solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that restores the Palestinians’ legitimate rights and fulfills their legitimate aspiration to establish their own independent state on their national soil, in accordance with the two-state solution.

In this regard, the King, who was to leave the UK and return home later on Thursday, highlighted the efforts led by US Secretary of State John Kerry to end the stalemate in the peace process and assist Palestinians and Israelis to resume negotiations on all final status issues.

During the meeting, His Majesty called on Israel to stop all unilateral measures, cautioning that continuing with these policies undermines and jeopardises peace chances and will have serious repercussions on the region and its people.

The King highlighted Jordan’s reform process and milestones achieved so far, starting with the constitutional amendments, new legislation to regulate political life, and the establishment of the Independent Elections Commission as well as the Constitutional Court. He also highlighted the January parliamentary elections, which were conducted in line with international standards of transparency.

His Majesty touched on the discussion papers he recently published online as a means to put various local issues up for debate and encourage all segments of society to engage in the reform process, eyeing as much consensus as possible on issues of national concern.

The British participants expressed appreciation for His Majesty’s continued efforts to boost regional peace and stability, commending Jordan’s wisdom in dealing with various challenges as well as the King’s vision for a modern, prosperous and democratic Kingdom.