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Bulgaria, Jordan Strengthening Cooperation in Trade, Agriculture, Education, Defense, Fight against Terrorism

17 December 2018 News

Deputy Prime Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva met in Amman with Ayman Al Safadi, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The top diplomats agrees that the two friendly countries should strengthen their cooperation in such areas as trade, agriculture, education, tourism, defense, and the fight against terrorism.


“The Kingdom of Jordan is a key partner of Bulgaria in the Middle East and Mediterranean regions. We are welcoming the efforts of King Abdullah II for maintaining peace and stability in this part of the world,” Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva said. She pointed out that cooperation between the two countries in the areas of defense and counterterrorism is excellent and expressed a desire that the joint work by the law enforcement authorities should continue in the struggle against transnational criminal groups and human trafficking. She welcomed in this connection the Aqaba Process whose main goal is international and regional coordination and cooperation in the fight against terrorism, extremist ideologies, and radicalization by employing an all-encompassing approach.


The two ministers expressed a desire for better ties between the two countries’ businesses in order to encourage trade and to restore past cooperation in areas such as agriculture, as Bulgaria had previously been exporting agricultural products to the Hashemite Kingdom for many years.


Ekaterina Zaharieva called for stronger education exchange, since only 22 Jordanian students are studying at Bulgarian higher educational establishments at this time, whereas Bulgaria was once a preferred country for many students from the Kingdom who are respected specialists in their own country today, which is particularly true about the physicians with their various specialties.


The two Ministers discussed ways to increase the number of tourists visiting the two countries and welcomed the start of direct flights between Sofia and Aqaba. The Ministers discussed also a number of issues on the current international agenda, including the situation in Syria. There are more than one million refugees from Syria in Jordan. Bulgaria has already provided 200,000 euros under the MADAD Fund as refugee aid for the countries neighboring on Syria. Bulgaria is also committed to providing 5.9 million euros in 2016-2019 under the EU mechanism for refugees in Turkey.


During the meeting, Zaharieva also raised the problem of Dr. Nedka Kaneva whose two children have been detained in Jordan in the custody of the parents of her husband who has dual citizenship. King Abdullah II has personally committed himself to resolving this case.


Ayman Al Safadi, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, agreed to visit Bulgaria early next year. He is a former journalist who served as spokesman for the UN Mission in Iraq, Director of Communications for the Royal Hashemite Court, Executive Director of the Jordanian Committee for Radio and TV, an advisor on media issues to Jordanian King Abdullah II, and government spokesman. Ayman Al Safadi is Co-President of the Union of the Mediterranean.
Jordan was established as a British protectorate by decision of the San Remo Conference in 1921, and gained independence in 1946. Bulgaria and Jordan published a joint communique on 9 October 1964 on the establishment of diplomatic relations between them. The Bulgarian diplomatic office in Amman was opened in 1968 and subsequently was upgraded to an Embassy.

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