His Majesty King Abdullah's Friday at the Oval Office held talks with US President George Bush on relentless efforts exerted to revive stalled Middle East peace process and on means to work out the appropriate mechanisms to boost Jordan-US cooperation within US aid to back Jordan's Socio-Economic Transformation Programme.

The King, during the meeting attended by Prime Minister Ali Abul Ragheb , Chief of the Royal Court Fayez Tarawneh, Foreign Minister Marwan Muasher, and Director of both the General Intelligence Department and the National Security Council General Saad Kheir, stressed the dire need to intensify US involvement in the region to bring Palestinians and Israelis back to the negotiating table.

The Monarch said it is significant to deal with chairman of Palestinian National Authority PNA Yasser Arafat and PNA as the key and sole mouthpiece of Palestinian aspirations, noting the continuity of the spiral of fatal violence in Palestine will have negative repercussions on the region's stability and security. He affirmed the significance to pursue efforts to defuse tensions and to find a way out to the current regional stalemate through taking courageous and practical steps to bring the peace process back to its right track.

The King in joint pres statements with President Bush said bilateral ties are "vital and significant to rejuvenate Jordan's economy and to upgrade its performance".

"My meeting with President Bush was an opportunity to explain the Kingdom's viewpoint on how to solve some regional difficult and delicate issues," the King noted, expressing thanks to President Bush's tireless maneuvering to achieve just , comprehensive and durable peace in the Middle East.

President Bush for his part stressed understanding of Jordan's economic and military needs , that guarantee the success of the Socio-Economic Transformation Plan ,currently being implemented by the government, adding " we had constructive and positive talks focusing on how to build on joint efforts to promote peace and stability and to combat terrorism. We look forward to working out the appropriate mechanisms to best boost joint economic cooperation".

Bush stressed appreciation for the "King's serious determination to better improve the living standards of Jordanians and in every speech of His Majesty we feel the his keenness to ensure a better life for Jordanians and to empower Jordanians to have the opportunity to have good education to achieve their aspirations".

His Majesty earlier held talks with Bush's National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld on joint military cooperation and US defense aid to Jordan.

Following King-Bush summit , Foreign Minister Marwan Muasher described today's talks as "significant and extremely practical" where the two leaders reviewed necessary means to find a away out of the Middle East impasse caused by the exacerbating security situation in the occupied Palestine .

Muasher's remarks came in a statement to Petra , and added "the Mideast peace process and the dire need that US continue its peacemaking efforts with Palestinian leadership to defuse tensions and to restore calm figured high during the meeting".

" The King's discussions also touched on US aid to Jordan to help implement government -sponsored Socio-Economic Transformation Plan," saying "there was US deep understanding from President Bush and we hope this positive trend will be translated into reality in the near time".

" We welcome US Secretary of State Collin Powel's stance on the necessity to end Israeli a occupation and to establish a Palestinian sovereign state. This is in itself a positive outcome and will contribute to find an outlet to the current stalemate," Muasher noted.