His Majesty King Abdullah II returned home Wednesday after a Gulf tour which took him to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait where King Abdullah held talks with King Fahed bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia and Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Jabber Al Ahmad Al Sabah on bilateral relations and latest developments in the region.



The King expressed his thanks to Kuwait for supporting Jordan noting the Kuwaiti oil grant to Jordan last year which helped the Kingdom offset the loss of Iraqi oil supply and enabled the Jordanian government to implement and achieve its developmental and economic plans and programs.



King Abdullah and Sheikh Jaber affirmed their keenness to promote and bolster Jordanian-Kuwaiti relations to the best interest of the people in the two countries.



The talks covered current regional circumstances, particularly the situations in Palestine and in Iraq. The two leaders welcomed the appointment of Ghazi Al Yawer as President of Iraq, and Iyad Al Allawi as Prime Minister, hoping that this would be the starting point for the Iraqi people to regain independence and sovereignty.



The two leaders stressed the necessity to push the peace process forward, implement the road map and to make sure that Israel's withdrawal from Gaza should be a prelude for comprehensive withdrawal from all the occupied Palestinian territories.



King Abdullah also held talks with Kuwaiti Prime Minster Sabah Al Ahmad on economic relations and means of promoting them.



The Kuwaiti Prime Minister expressed his country's readiness to develop and support these relations for the mutual benefit of the two countries and to benefit from the investment opportunities in Jordan made available through the international agreements Jordan has concluded, particularly with the US and EU. Reaffirming Kuwait's support to Jordan, Sabah said "we will encourage the Kuwaiti private sector to invest in Jordan."



The talks touched upon economic issues, which were discussed by the Jordanian-Kuwaiti joint committee in Kuwait earlier this year.



At the Bayan Palace, His Majesty met with two leading Kuwaiti businessmen, Nasser Al Khorafi and Qutaybah Al Ghanem for talks on investment privileges in Jordan and procedures taken by Jordan to facilitate and sustain the investment process.



During a meeting with Kuwaiti Parliament Speaker Jassem Al Khorafi, King Abdullah highlighted the important role of Arab of parliaments in bolstering inter-Arab relations.



In the presence of King Abdullah and Sheikh Jaber a cooperation agreement was concluded between Jordan and the Kuwaiti Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) to help finance development projects in Jordan. Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Basem Awadallah signed the agreement for Jordan and Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Muhammad Al Sabah signed it on behalf of the fund KFAED. Under the agreement KFAED grants Jordan KD20 million to finance Khirbeh Al Samara power generation plant.



The agreement signals a new starting point for the fund's activities in Jordan after a halt lasted for fourteen years. Since its establishment in 1961, the fund concluded about 20 agreements with Jordan reaching a total of $313 million that have financed several vital projects in the Kingdom.