His Majesty King Abdullah on Monday welcomed Central American countries' interest in building solid relationships with the Arab world, pointing out Jordan's keenness to work hand-in-hand with Honduras to achieve that goal.

During a meeting with visiting Honduran Foreign Minister Milton Jimenez, the King said Amman seeks to construct strong economic ties with Tegucigalpa.

King Abdullah invited the Central American countries, which include Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Guatemala, in addition to Honduras, to attend the Dead Sea Institute (DSI) forum, slated for late 2006.

He said the meeting would be an opportunity to bolster cooperation between the two regions.

The newly established DSI serves as the bridge between research and analysis on one hand and policy-making on the other, and will help identify global trends in economics, trade, governance and cross-border cooperation.

The forum plans to hold an annual conference at the Dead Sea to bring together public and private sector authorities committed to promoting cooperation, trade and investment among emerging economies in particular.

During the talks with Jimenez, the King urged Honduras and its neighbors to contribute to the initiative he launched on the sidelines of United Nations General Assembly meeting in last September, which calls on the advanced world to aid low- and medium-income countries.

King Abdullah commended the positive changes witnessed by Central America in the past few years in terms of openness, democracy and stability.

Jimenez, who handed the King an invitation by Honduran President Emanuel Zelaya to visit his country, said Tegucigalpa believes in Jordan's ability to help build strong Central American-Arab ties.

He said his country is interested in opening a commercial representation office in Amman to develop economic ties between the two countries.

The two sides also agreed to exchange visits by investors to further enhance these ties.

The Jordan Times