Jordan Times
Sunday, May 14, 2006
Khatib meets with US secretary of state
AMMAN (JT) — Foreign Minister Abdul Ilah Khatib, accompanied by Jordan’s Ambassador to the US Karim Kawar, met with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Washington on Thursday to discuss US-Jordan bilateral issues as well as regional developments including the Palestinian-Israeli issue, Iraq, the war on terrorism and reforms. Khatib stressed the importance and necessity of pushing the peace process forward, reiterating Jordan’s support for the Palestinian National Authority and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Khatib said Jordan is “committed to its position in advocating the return of both sides to the negotiating table.” Referring to the recent Quartet meetings held in New York, Khatib said the members made progress in agreeing to establish a mechanism to channel funds to the Palestinian people. On Iraq, the foreign minister said recent developments on the political front are positive signs, adding that in the next period the focus should be made on an all-inclusive national unity government that will not exclude any faction. “Jordan continues to encourage efforts to form a government that would preserve Iraq’s territorial integrity and preserve its Iraqi identity,” he said, adding that Jordan continues to play a positive role in supporting Iraq’s security, stability and reconstruction efforts through training more than 30,000 Iraqi police, special operations forces, judges and civil society leaders. Khatib also discussed Jordan’s reform agenda with Rice as well as the Forum for the Future, which will be hosted by Jordan in December of this year.