His Majesty King Abdullah Returns Home Following Visit to China

Amman
21 January 2002

His Majesty King Abdullah II returned home Monday after a visit to China and Singapore.

The King`s talks with Chinese President Jiang Zemin dealt with the Middle East peace effort, the blockade on Iraq and ways to further cement Jordanian-Chinese relations.

The talks focused on the deteriorating security in the Palestinian territories and how China together with other influential powers could put an end to the mounting tension there and pave the ground for a return to peace talks between the Palestinians and Israelis .

The 11-year sanctions on Iraq was one the topics on the agenda and China voiced support to Jordan`s stand calling for an end to the international sanctions and the need to start negotiations between Iraq and the UN to settle all the standing issues.

Economic cooperation also figured high during the visit where His Majesty King Abdullah met leading businessmen and heads of major companies in Singapore and major Chinese cities including Peking, Shanghai and Hong Kong and explained his vision on future investment opportunities in Jordan.

As a result of the successful visit Jordanian business delegations will visit China in the coming months to get a first hand look on China`s experiment in developing integrated industrial zones. Similarly, a number of Chinese investors, who expressed willingness to invest in Jordan, will be visiting Jordan in the foreseeable future to look into investment opportunities particularly in pharmaceutical industries and the IT sector.