King Abdullah - Arafat hold summit

Jordan's King Abdullah Bin Hussein and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat have asserted the need for "continued Jordanian- Palestinian coordination and the tripartite Jordanian, Egyptian and Palestinian coordination prior to starting the final status negotiations with the Israeli side."

The two sides agreed on the need "to revitalize Arab coordination on all levels and to give such a coordination a dimension and level that complies with the forthcoming phase of negotiations so as to assure Arab backing for the Palestinian negotiators and the importance of attaining Palestinian rights, especially the establishment of the independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as a capital."

King Abdullah and Arafat also underlined the importance of resuming negotiations on the Syrian and Lebanese tracks according to the Madrid terms of reference.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Abdil Ilah al-Khatib said upon reading the joint statement released by the bilateral summit between King Abdullah and Yasser Arafat that, "Arab coordination is of special significance in this phase when all sights are directed towards achievements in the peace process after this process is being accelerated on all tracks."

The visit of King Abdullah Bin Hussein is the first of its kind since he assumed power in succession of his father, King Hussein.

The Jordanian King was accompanied by a high-ranking Jordanian delegation including Prince Hashem Bin Hussein, Prime Minister Abdul Raouf al-Rawabdeh, the chairman of the Royal court Abdul Karim al-Kabareiti, the King's advisor Salah Abu Zeid, Foreign Minister Abdul Ilah al-Khatib, Information Minister Nasser al-Louzi, Minister of the Interior Nayed al-Qadi and Trade Minister Muhammad Asfour.