Jordan's King leaves for US, Peru

King Abdullah II, accompanied by Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah on Friday left for a working visit to the USA and Peru. During the visit, the King will deliver Jordan’s speech at meetings of the 67th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York and meet a number of world leaders and heads of participating delegations. In Peru, His Majesty will deliver Jordan’s speech at meetings of the third Summit of South American-Arab Countries (ASPA), which will start in Lima, the capital of Peru, on October 1. The summit aims at promoting cooperation between Arab and south American countries in economic, cultural, educational, scientific, environmental and tourism fields. His Royal Highness Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein was sworn in as regent before cabinet members. In a statement to Petra before leaving, His Majesty stressed absolute determination to move ahead with the comprehensive reform process leading to a new phase of modernization. The King urged citizens to participate in the electoral process and choose the best to serve Jordan and their interests, praising the role of the Independent Elections Commission. His Majesty said this election will determine not only the make-up of the new parliament, but also that of the new parliamentary government. ”We will not allow any interference in the electoral process”, the King stressed. The King added that Parliament will be dissolved, the elections date will be announced and “we will have a new Parliament by the new year”. The King expressed hope to have strong political parties in the future representing right, left and centre and adopting practical policies and programs on various public issues. ”There will likely be several political parties, some independents, and some blocs and the next parliament will almost certainly have to form bloc-based coalitions to form the government,” King Abdullah said. His Majesty added that developments in Syria and the peace process will be highlighted in Jordan’s speech before the UN General Assembly and during meetings with world leaders. The Palestinian issue, which lies at the core of conflict in the entire region, will be discussed during our meetings, the King said, affirming Jordan’s full support of the Palestinians to restore their legitimate rights to establish their own independent state within the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital. On Syria Jordan calls for intensifying efforts to realize a solution based on a peaceful political transition within the international legal framework to put an end to violence and bloodshed and preserve Syria’s unity, the King said. The issue of Syrian refugees in Jordan will be discussed during the visit, and the international community will be briefed on burdens resulting from hosting a large number of Syrian refugees, the King told Petra.