The 13th Association Committee meeting in Amman between the EU Delegation and the Hashemite kingdom in Jordan took place Tuesday, February 6. The two parties reconfirmed the strength of their partnership and agreed to continue working together to foster stability, peace and security in the Middle East.

The EU commended Jordan’s leading role in hosting large numbers of refugees, notably from Syria, and confirmed its commitment to continue supporting both refugee and host communities in the Hashemite Kingdom.

In the EU-Jordan partnership priorities of 2021-2027; The EU and Jordan have confirmed shared objectives and common interests in pursuing both a peace process and a return to stability and peace in Syria, to allow for the voluntary, safe and dignified return of refugees, in addition to sustaining assistance levels and access to protection, education, livelihoods and services for Syrian refugees in Jordan.

Regarding the conflict in the Gaza Strip, Jordan called for an immediate ceasefire, and the European Union also stressed the urgent need for cessation of hostilities. The two parties emphasized in the joint statement that came out of meeting that the only path to a just, lasting and comprehensive resolution of the conflict in the Middle East is the two-state solution that ends occupation and leads to the establishment of an independent, contiguous, sovereign and viable Palestinian State, on the lines of 4 June 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital, living side by side with the State of Israel in peace, in accordance with international law and the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.

Peace, security and a multilateral, rules-based order lie at the heart of the long-standing relationship between the EU and Jordan, and the Association Council due to take place in Brussels in the coming months at ministerial level is further expected to yield more results in multiple facets.