King Abdullah confers with Cohen
Jordan-USA, Politics, 10/25/1999

King Abdullah II of Jordan met on Sunday in Amman with US Defense Secretary William Cohen.

Bilateral relations, especially in the military areas and joint exercises between the armed forces in the two countries and the Jordanian armed forces' needs for weapons and military equipment, were reviewed during the meeting.

Earlier in the day, Jordanian Prime Minister Abdul Raouf al-Rawabdeh reviewed with Cohen bilateral relations, especially military cooperation relations, the Middle East peace process and efforts made to revive them.

During the meeting, the Jordanian prime minister stressed the importance of reviving and revitalizing the Sharm El-Sheikh agreement to reach the promising positive results out of this agreement, very soon.

Al-Rawabdeh said, "Peoples of the region are still not convinced in the peace process, because they do not feel its results." He added that this situation needs the determination of sides concerned in the region and the international community to continue their efforts to reach a just and comprehensive peace in the region.

For his part, the US defense secretary said he will discuss means of "revitalizing the Sharm El-Sheikh agreement with the Israeli government." He expressed his hope that this agreement will be revitalized before the Thanksgiving holiday in the US. He indicated that his visit to Jordan intends to reaffirm the US commitment to helping Jordan withstand economic challenges and to strengthen bilateral relations.

Cohen arrived in Amman earlier in the day.

Earlier, Cohen said that the US will reinforce its air base in Kuwait to "to be able quickly to repulse any emergency."

In a press conference he held in Kuwait before heading for Amman, Cohen said, "All that we want is to increase the capacity of our base to accommodate forces and receive more planes in emergency cases," adding that such an act will cost US $173 million.

He added that his country is not planning to decrease its military presence in the Arab Gulf area, rather seeks to intensify its forces, on the ground that this will ensure a balance for the whole region, as he claimed.

In a press conference he held in Kuwait on Sunday before heading to Jordan at the conclusion of a one-day visit, Cohen said his talks with Kuwaiti officials dealt with means of strengthening relations between the two countries in the military and security fields.

Cohen noted that there is no change in the US-Kuwaiti policy towards Iraq or towards full implementation of all international legitimacy resolutions.

Previous Stories:
  US reschedules Jordanian debts   (10/18/1999)
  Clinton, King Abdullah discuss Middle East peace, bilateral relations   (10/14/1999)
  Jordanian, US trade relations highlighted   (10/11/1999)

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