Jordan Times
Sunday, March 14, 2004
Jordan, Austria sign cooperation agreement
AMMAN (Petra) — Jordan and Austria on Saturday concluded an agreement on collaboration in handling natural disasters and combating organised crime.The agreement, which was signed by Interior Minister Samir Habashneh and his Austrian counterpart Ernest Strasser, aims at exchanging expertise in battling organised crime and stemming drug-trafficking operations.
It also provides for the employment of airborne units to dispatch rescue teams to help disaster victims. It stipulates that neither party can claim compensation for the damage or loss of equipment deployed to deal with relief aid or fight crime.
At the signing ceremony, Habashneh noted that Jordan enjoys security and stability thanks to an advanced and effective security system that is capable of dealing with criminal acts across borders at the local, regional and international levels. He said the concerned authorities solve almost 99 per cent of drug-trafficking cases.
Underlining the importance of Austrian-Jordanian collaboration, Strasser said the two countries have a common denomination being geographically located at the crossroads of cultures and civilisations in Europe and Asia, and enjoy strong friendly ties.
Referring to the agreement, Strasser said it aims to give further impetus to cooperation in curbing drug-trafficking operations.
Strasser invited Habashneh to visit Austria and acquaint himself with the Austrian political party system and institutes established by these parties to offer education and culture to the public in political and social fields.
In remarks after the meeting, Strasser said his country considers Jordan as one of the most important countries in the Middle East region.
Earlier on Saturday, Strasser and his accompanying delegation met Director of the Public Security Department General Tahseen Shurdum to review coordination and collaboration in police training fields.