King Hussein: Jordan will remain the shield of Arabs

King Hussein of Jordan yesterday said in Amman that Jordan will be always be "a sword and a great supporter to all Arab brothers," at a time when Jordanian transport Minister Sami Qamweh announced that Jordan has asked to end inspection operations carried out by Lloyd company in al-Aqaba port for Iraqi shipments.

During a speech he delivered at the graduation ceremony of cadets at Mu'ta Military Academy, King Hussein called upon those who he described as very few not "to underestimate Jordan's steadfastness and its achievements." He added that the future is promising, stating that Arab solidarity will be met in the near future for the interests of the Arab nation.

Well-informed Jordanian sources said that Jordanian Foreign Minister Jawad al-Anani held intensive meetings with ambassadors from countries of the UN Security Council's permanent member states to brief them on reasons why Jordan accepted inspection of commodities shipped to Iraq after the Gulf War.

Meanwhile, Jordanian Crown Prince Hassan met on Saturday with Iraq's Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz and held with him talks on efforts exerted to lift sanctions imposed on Iraq. Aziz arrived in Amman on Friday in his way home following a visit to Spain during which he met with high-ranking Spanish officials.