India inks 4 MoUs with Jordan

New Delhi, December 1: Taking bilateral relations a step further, India and Jordan signed four MoUs. They include the promotion and protection of investment, cooperation in the field of agriculture, tourism and cultural exchange.

King Abdullah II, in his first visit as the monarch to India, today held talks with President APJ Abdul Kalam and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Both the king and the Prime Minister discussed the bilateral relations, especially the need for greater economic ties and other regional issues. They also discussed the Middle-East peace process and the Prime Minister is said to have underlined the importance of dialogue in resolving all the outstanding issues in the region.
It may be recalled that at a lecture delivered yesterday at the Indian Council for World Affairs, the King had underscored the need to settle the Palestinian questions. “The core conflict in our region continues to be fuelled by the denial of Palestinian rights and sovereignty. The ongoing crisis is the cause of immense suffering and violence. And today it is contributing to the deepening of the regional instability. Violence and conflict have become the norms for the region,” Abdullah had said.
During the delegation-level talks, New Delhi reiterated its commitment to relations with the Middle East — home to nearly four million-strong Indian diaspora — and to further developing economic and political ties with Jordan.
Later in the day, the King met UPA chairperson and Congress president Sonia Gandhi. The King also offered scholarships for Muslim students to study in Jordan as a goodwill gesture at a function hosted by Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Rahman Khan yesterday. He told the Muslim leaders about the need to have constant dialogue with the non-Muslim communities for charting out a course of progress and economic development. The India-Jordan trade is growing and is currently estimated to be $494 million. In the past eight months, India’s exports registered an increase of 45 per cent.