Jordan's King Abdullah and Kuwait's emir, Sheikh Jaber Al Ahmad Al Sabah, emphasized Monday their eagerness to cooperate in all fields, and "expressed their pride on the consistent development of Jordanian-Kuwaiti relations," reported the official Petra news agency.
The Jordanian monarch arrived in the Gulf state on Sunday for talks on bilateral and regional issues.
Jordan and Kuwait stressed that the visit was not designed as a mediation effort between Kuwait and Iraq. But Kuwait, which has officially welcomed the visit, said all subjects were open for discussion, reported the Jordan Times newspaper.
The Arab summit held in Amman in March entrusted King Abdullah with making contacts with Iraq and Kuwait to end their differences.
In an interview published on Friday in the Kuwaiti newspaper Al Rai Al Aam, Abdullah called for reconciliation between Iraq and Kuwait, but stressed that his current visit was not intended as a mediation effort.
King Abdullah was quoted by the paper as saying that Kuwait and Iraq should work to resolve differences between them and any solution should be based on "well-defined future relations and mutual respect of the two countries' sovereignty and rights."
Abdullah's visit to Kuwait is the second since 1999 and relations between the two countries have continually strengthened after being strained over Jordanian support for Iraq during the second Gulf War.
During their meeting Monday, the two leaders discussed
the "expected practical steps to expand the prospects of cooperation in favor of the two people's interests based on brotherly relations of confidence and mutual respect," a statement said, cited by Petra.
The discussions also focused on the latest developments in the region, particularly the escalation of the conflict in the Palestinian territories and efforts to stop Israeli aggression against the Palestinians, in addition to means of enhancing joint Arab action, added the statement.
Later, the two delegations held a series of meetings during which agreements in the fields of economic cooperation and labor were signed – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
