King Abdullah to visit US
Jordan-USA, Politics, 5/15/1999

Jordan's King Abdullah is to arrive in the US on Monday for his first visit to Washington since becoming king, which will include meetings with US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and US President Bill Clinton.

US Undersecretary of State for Near East Affairs Martin Indyk said yesterday that King Abdullah will also meet during his visit with "congressional leadership, the foreign relations committees, the business community and various other high government officials here."

Indyk said that King Abdullah "has moved quickly to establish himself in the region," adding that he follows "the path of promoting peace and stability in the region."

Indyk said that the US "strongly" supports the improved relations between Jordan and the Gulf Cooperation Council states and welcomes the new initiatives between Jordan and Syria.

He stated that the king's current tour has focused on economic matters, saying, "The king is very much focused on how to reform the economy, deregulate and privatize, and promote greater foreign investment and greater exports of Jordanian goods, particularly to the Gulf, to the West Bank, to Israel and to the United States."

He added, "The king has sought the help of the United States and Jordan's other creditors to deal with the very large debt that has accumulated. The king is seeking debt forgiveness. We, of course, have forgiven almost all of the debt that Jordan owed the United States some years ago in the context of Jordan's peace treaty with Israel. But there is still a very considerable debt to the Japanese, Germans, French and British."

Indyk said the US talks with King Abdullah will also focus on the Middle East peace process.

Previous Stories:
  King Abdullah: A new page opened in Syrian - Jordanian relations   (5/13/1999)
  King Abdullah starts his Western tour   (5/11/1999)
  Jordanian King confers with Israel's Barak   (5/5/1999)

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