Turkish President Abdullah Gul and his spouse on Tuesday evening held an official dinner banquet in honor of their Majesties King Abdullah and Queen Rania.

In a speech during the banquet, King Abdullah thanked the Turkish President for his hospitality, hailing the partnership that bonds Jordan and Turkey and has been growing and evolving constantly, especially at this time when Turkey and Jordan are facing significant challenges as a result of tensions in the Middle East.

The King said Jordan and Turkey have a common commitment to supporting efforts to achieve peace and strengthen security and stability in the region.

On the Palestinian issue, King Abdullah stressed the need for helping the Palestinian people realising their rights and establish their independent state on Palestinian national soil based on two-state solution and the Arab Peace Initiative.

The King said despite challenges facing the two countries, there are great opportunities to serve the common interests of the two brotherly peoples, stressing Jordan’s keenness to deepen cooperation with Turkey in various fields.

The Turkish president thanked His Majesty for the visit and commended Jordanian-Turkish ties, which he described as a model for relations between countries of the Middle East.

On the Syrian crisis, President Gul warned that the continuation of the crisis in Syria “adds to the suffering of the brotherly Syrian people and destroys the social fabric of this country and its cultural heritage.”

He said that Jordan and Turkey, as two neighbours of Syria, are strongly influenced by the continuing crisis there, and therefore finding a solution to the crisis as soon as possible is in the interest of both countries.