{"id":682814,"date":"2026-01-08T18:57:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T18:57:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/682814\/"},"modified":"2026-01-08T18:57:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T18:57:12","slug":"jordan-and-eu-hold-first-ever-summit-to-advance-strategic-partnership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/682814\/","title":{"rendered":"Jordan and EU hold first-ever summit to &#8216;advance strategic partnership&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"defaultstyled__StyledText-sc-11u52t4-1 huqwQJ margin-lg-bottom\" id=\"el-0-D3EQYEUAOFGCRILD6MD5SYYENA\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thenationalnews.com\/mena\/jordan\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.thenationalnews.com\/mena\/jordan\/\">Jordan<\/a> and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thenationalnews.com\/tags\/european-union\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.thenationalnews.com\/tags\/european-union\/\">European Union<\/a> held a high-level summit in Amman on Thursday that was attended by King Abdullah II, European Council President Antonio Costa, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.<\/p>\n<p class=\"defaultstyled__StyledText-sc-11u52t4-1 huqwQJ margin-lg-bottom\" id=\"el-1-JFQ5T6VQIRDEDOSOEYBADXVSNY\">King Abdullah said on X that the first Jordan-EU summit was \u201ca major step in advancing our strategic partnership and unleashing new avenues for co-operation\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"defaultstyled__StyledText-sc-11u52t4-1 huqwQJ margin-lg-bottom\" id=\"el-3-T6Y2BMIHVJEXRATZDJNZNIVFZM\">Jordan and the EU said they \u201cstand firmly committed to unlocking their trade and bilateral relations, and to enhancing their bilateral co-operation to unleash the full potential of the Free Trade Area of the Association Agreement\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"defaultstyled__StyledText-sc-11u52t4-1 huqwQJ margin-lg-bottom\" id=\"el-4-RKKZBK7IHBEVRBYJM4NPAAFQLA\">They have agreed to explore how Jordanian companies could make better use of the simplified Rules of Origin Scheme to support kingdom in the context of the large refugee population it hosts, while continuing to work on building their export capacity and competitiveness. <\/p>\n<p class=\"defaultstyled__StyledText-sc-11u52t4-1 huqwQJ margin-lg-bottom\" id=\"el-5-W526OV45WRG6BEOXUU3QZOLLI4\">The EU commended Jordan\u2019s sustained efforts in hosting <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thenationalnews.com\/mena\/jordan\/jordan-s-king-abdullah-tells-davos-that-protecting-refugees-is-a-global-responsibility-1.1155522\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.thenationalnews.com\/mena\/jordan\/jordan-s-king-abdullah-tells-davos-that-protecting-refugees-is-a-global-responsibility-1.1155522\">millions of refugees<\/a> and its commitment to ensuring their dignified living conditions and access to basic services. <\/p>\n<p class=\"defaultstyled__StyledText-sc-11u52t4-1 huqwQJ margin-lg-bottom\" id=\"el-7-TGJM6KES7NBQNIPFO2TKYZX5NM\">\u201cWe remain steadfastly committed to supporting Palestinian refugees in Jordan. We reiterate the essential role of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in providing vital services,\u201d the EU said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"defaultstyled__StyledText-sc-11u52t4-1 huqwQJ margin-lg-bottom\" id=\"el-8-YITK5EPQCNAWDFQI3KH4CGMMNI\">They said that they would continue to work together on security co-operation, border management, countering organised crime and all forms of smuggling and trafficking, including through enhancing co-operation with EU agencies. <\/p>\n<p class=\"defaultstyled__StyledText-sc-11u52t4-1 huqwQJ margin-lg-bottom\" id=\"el-9-SK2GBAUCOFDONGAOXG4EKLRYMQ\">\u201cWe remain committed to countering terrorism and preventing radicalisation and violent extremism, including through the Global Coalition against [ISIS], the Global Counter-terrorism Forum and the Aqaba Process on counter terrorism and violent extremism,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"defaultstyled__StyledText-sc-11u52t4-1 huqwQJ margin-lg-bottom\" id=\"el-11-GPZE3Y2Q7FED7DFZK3SQ2Y4PCI\">They also agreed to launch the first EU-Jordan Security and Defence Dialogue in Amman this year, and to advance EU support to Jordanian Armed Forces under the European Peace Facility and future Jordanian engagement under the EU\u2019s Common Security and Defence Policy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"defaultstyled__StyledText-sc-11u52t4-1 huqwQJ margin-lg-bottom\" id=\"el-12-KXWDJPNMQFFHBHAGUREM4DQXGA\">The statement said the EU was putting forward a support package of \u20ac3 billion ($3.5 billion) for Jordan, as announced in January last year. <\/p>\n<p class=\"defaultstyled__StyledText-sc-11u52t4-1 huqwQJ margin-lg-bottom\" id=\"el-13-DI5FA3ASBZF3DFZRGLLXGRHPQY\">On the region, they repeated that the only path to a just, lasting and comprehensive resolution of the conflict in the Middle East is the two-state solution, with the State of Israel and a sovereign viable State of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thenationalnews.com\/opinion\/comment\/2025\/09\/24\/palestine-un-statehood-gaza-israel-middle-east\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.thenationalnews.com\/opinion\/comment\/2025\/09\/24\/palestine-un-statehood-gaza-israel-middle-east\/\">Palestine<\/a>, living side by side in peace, security, and mutual recognition. <\/p>\n<p class=\"defaultstyled__StyledText-sc-11u52t4-1 huqwQJ margin-lg-bottom\" id=\"el-14-6QDKA6UJQVHQ7KCOOSC5BZ2YXY\">The two sides expressed support for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thenationalnews.com\/news\/mena\/2026\/01\/06\/lebanon-claims-financial-crackdown-is-choking-illicit-funding-flows\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.thenationalnews.com\/news\/mena\/2026\/01\/06\/lebanon-claims-financial-crackdown-is-choking-illicit-funding-flows\/\">Lebanon&#8217;s<\/a> stability and for the fundamental role played by the UN peacekeeping force UNIFIL. <\/p>\n<p class=\"defaultstyled__StyledText-sc-11u52t4-1 huqwQJ margin-lg-bottom\" id=\"el-15-5NX2JTJHZVEUJKZBN3FECJGJPI\">\u201cWe reiterate the need to respect Lebanon&#8217;s sovereignty and territorial integrity and call on all parties to fully implement the Resolution 1701 and the ceasefire agreement of November 2024,\u201d they said. <\/p>\n<p class=\"defaultstyled__StyledText-sc-11u52t4-1 huqwQJ margin-lg-bottom\" id=\"el-16-Y66CDPYWTZBWNLFGMRAW5SKWHI\">They also said they will continue working together to support of a peaceful and inclusive Syrian-led and Syrian-owned transition, free from harmful foreign interference, with the aim to ensure Syria\u2019s unity, sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, and the safety and prosperity of its people. <\/p>\n<p class=\"defaultstyled__StyledText-sc-11u52t4-1 huqwQJ margin-lg-bottom\" id=\"el-17-FD6CWDQ6GJAF3JPFGY5M237K4I\">They agreed to hold their next EU-Jordan summit in Brussels in 2028. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jordan and the European Union held a high-level summit in Amman on Thursday that was attended by King&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":682815,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5174],"tags":[2000,299,5187,1699,74087,1715,1426],"class_list":{"0":"post-682814","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-eu","8":"tag-eu","9":"tag-europe","10":"tag-european","11":"tag-european-union","12":"tag-foreign-desk-team","13":"tag-standard","14":"tag-story"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115861012102588494","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/682814","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=682814"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/682814\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/682815"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=682814"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=682814"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=682814"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}