His Majesty King Abdullah on Monday held a one-on-one meeting, followed by expanded talks, with Governor General of Canada David Johnston at Al Husseiniya Palace.

The two leaders discussed bilateral relations and regional and international developments.

At the beginning of the second meeting, His Majesty described the visit as important and timely to review challenges facing the region.

The King thanked Canada for its support for the Kingdom to help it shoulder the burdens of the Syrian crisis and for receiving refugees in Canada.

Johnston expressed his happiness in visiting Jordan, noting that this is the first time a governor general of Canada visits the Kingdom, adding that there would be more visits in the future.

The meeting, which was attended by senior officials from both countries, focused on the importance of building on the outcome of His Majesty’s visit to Canada last month and the memoranda of understanding and agreements signed between the two countries there, especially the deals on increasing economic cooperation.

They discussed cooperation in the field of development and education, and means to encourage innovation, in addition to exchange of expertise.

The King highlighted investment opportunities available in the Kingdom, especially in the field of energy, mining, transportation and tourism, urging the Canadian private sector to benefit from those opportunities through economic partnerships with Jordanian counterparts.

He underlined the fact that such projects can take advantage of the Jordan-Canada Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which went into force in 2012.

The discussions also covered the burdens on Jordan due to the Syrian refugee crisis. His Majesty reiterated a call on the international community to undertake its share of responsibility, as agreed on at the February London donor conference, and support refugee-hosting countries, mainly Jordan.

The two sides discussed efforts to combat terrorism, and also looked into the annual Canadian support for the Kingdom, which amounted to nearly $40 million at the end of October this year.

For his part, Johnston stressed his country’s interest to boost cooperation, especially in the movie and cinema industry and in the fields of vocational education and small and medium enterprises, in addition to empowering women to have a larger share in the labour market.

Canada is also interested in contributing to the Red Sea-Dead Sea Water Conveyance Project (Red-Dead), the governor said.

After the talks, His Majesty held a lunch banquet in honour of Johnston and his wife.