Ties between Jordan and Austria discussed
Jordan-Austria, Politics, 6/11/1998

In the second day of his visit to Austria, Jordan's Crown Prince Hassan held bilateral economic talks with Austrian officials. Austria agreed to provide Jordan with technical expertise, including assistance in transportation and commerce.

Crown Prince Hassan He also met with four UN agencies located in Vienna. He renewed his call for a ban on weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East region. Crown Prince Hassan attended part of the meeting of International Atomic Energy Agency. Jordan is the first country in the Middle East to move toward joining the additional protocol of nonproliferation of atomic weapons.

During his meeting with the president of IAEA, Crown Prince Hassan said that as far as nuclear technology, the Middle East should be dealt with as one area which should be free of nuclear weapons.

"There is a feeling of a double standard in the area in the way the world dealt on the one hand with Iraq and on the other hand with Israel," he said.

"Jordan has signed all agreements related to the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons," he said, adding that the Middle East has needs and should be allowed to research nuclear technology for uses in different fields and should not be deprived of such technology.

Besides the IAEA, Hassan met with the director general of the UN Industrial Development Organization. "The organization can help Jordan improve industry and enhance competitiveness by providing technical aid," Crown Prince Hassan said.

Earlier yesterday, he held talks with Austrian Chamber of Commerce and Trade aiming at enhancing economic ties between both countries.

Though the relations between Jordan and Austria have always been good, the level of trade between them has been rather low, with only $25 million in trade exchange between the two states.

Jordan invited Austrian companies to work with their Jordanian counterparts to create opportunities to enhance trade.

Hassan also paid a visit to the Austrian Foreign Ministry and held talks with Vice-Chancellor and Foreign Minister Wolfgang Chassel on developments in the deadlocked Middle East peace process.

Previous Stories:
  King Hussein to U.S. today   (6/9/1998)
  Jordan is optimistic over peace process   (6/8/1998)
  Algerian President confers with Jordanian prince   (6/5/1998)

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