Leaders of Jordan, Kazakhstan discuss Mideast peace, bilateral ties

Nov 3, 2009, 17:34 GMT

Amman - Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev conferred Tuesday with Jordan's King Abdullah on efforts to spur the stalled Middle East peace process and ways of boosting bilateral ties, a statement by the Jordanian royal court said.

Nazarbayev arrived in Amman earlier Tuesday for a two-day state visit.

The discussions focused on Middle East developments, particularly 'ongoing efforts to ensure a relaunch of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians on the basis of the two-state vision that guarantees the setting up of an independent and viable Palestinian state,' the statement said.

Abdullah and Nazarbayev also underscored the importance of cooperation among Islamic countries with a view to 'dealing with challenges facing the Islamic world', it said.

The leaders of the two Islamic countries agreed that ample opportunities existed for promoting bilateral economic cooperation particularly in the spheres of energy, agriculture, pharmaceutical and foods industries as well as tourism.

The two countries have so far concluded 13 agreements to expand relations in the economic, commercial and investment fields.

The Kazakh head of state is accompanied by a business delegation whose members met with their Jordanian counterparts to discuss future joint ventures.

Trade between Jordan and Kazakhstan reached more than 100 million dollars in 2008, according to the Jordanian Trade and Industry Minister Amer al-Hadidi.