Jordan’s King aspires to a bigger ceasefire in Syrian

King Abdullah II of Jordan said Tuesday he hopes that a recent ceasefire in southern Syria will spread to other parts of the country to lead to a negotiated peace. “In Syria, we hope that the ceasefire in the southwest will be replicated elsewhere in the country, easing the way for a political solution that guarantees the country’s territorial integrity and ends the bloodshed,” the king told a joint press conference with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

At the end of the monarch’s two-day state visit to Canada, Trudeau announced Can$45.3 million ($36.2 million US) to help support Syrian refugees in Jordan, as well as economic development and the empowerment of women in the kingdom. The United Nations says Jordan is hosting more than 650,000 Syrian refugees, while the kingdom puts their actual number at 1.4 million.

Since the end of 2015, Canada has taken in about 40,000 Syrian refugees. “Canada has warmly welcomed Syrian refugees and we hope that it continues its humanitarian policy,” King Abdullah II said. The two leaders also called on entrepreneurs and companies in both Canada and Jordan to take advantage of a 2012 free trade agreement to boost bilateral trade. Current bilateral trade is modest (less than Can$200 million) despite more than doubling over the past decade.

Upon his arrival, King Abdullah was given a formal reception attended by Johnston and his wife Sharon, where the marching music band played the Jordan Royal Anthem and the Canadian National Anthem, and the artillery performed a 21-gun salute. His Majesty is due to also meet with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to discuss means of enhancing cooperation between Jordan and Canada, and the latest regional and international developments.

Canada and Jordan are bound by a free trade agreement (FTA), which entered into force on October 1, 2012, as Canada’s first FTA with an Arab country. 

The Canada-Jordan FTA “gives Canadians access to new markets, customers and partnerships, as well as creating stronger supply and production chains. It immediately eliminated tariffs —­ which ran as high as 30 per cent — on over 99 per cent of current Canadian exports to Jordan and will eliminate tariffs on a small number of other products over the next three to five years”, according to the Canadian embassy’s website.

According to the Department of Statistics (DoS), in the first half of 2017, Jordan imported products from Canada worth around JD20.3 million, up from nearly JD19.6 million during the same period of 2016. Exports to Canada stood at nearly JD22.6 million in the first half of the current year, compared with around JD22.3 million in the corresponding period in 2016.