Israeli President Isaac Herzog met in secret with King Abdullah II of Jordan in Amman, he revealed on Saturday, September 4, in a context of diplomatic warming between the two countries.
“Last week, I met the King of Jordan in a very long conversation, I was in his palace for a whole evening. It was an excellent meeting ”President Herzog said in an interview, excerpts from which aired during prime time Saturday night on Israeli TV stations. The interview is due to air in its entirety on Sunday, on the eve of the Jewish New Year, with celebrations starting Monday evening.
“Jordan is a very important country. I have immense respect for King Abdullah, a great leader and a very important regional actor ”, also said Mr. Herzog, quoted in a statement of his services.
The text mentions” a ” warm meeting, “At the invitation of the King of Jordan, and during which the two leaders discussed strategic issues, bilaterally and regionally”.
“Among the things we discussed are the subjects at the heart of relations between our two countries, in particular an agreement to import agricultural products (from Jordan, editor’s note) during the year of “shmitah” (fallow occurring every seven years according to Jewish religious law), energy issues, sustainable development and solutions to the climate crisis that we can promote together ”, adds the press release.
Agreement with the Hashemite kingdom last July
Jordan is the only Arab country bordering Israel – along with Egypt – to have signed a peace treaty with the Jewish state.
Bilateral relations between the two countries had deteriorated under the government of former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Critics had criticized the latter for having neglected the Hashemite kingdom in favor of the normalization, which took place in 2020, of Israel’s relations with other Arab countries: the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco.
New Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett flew to Amman to meet King Abdullah II shortly after taking office in June.
The two countries notably concluded an agreement in early July on the sale of 50 million m3 of water per year by Israel to the Hashemite kingdom, in addition to the 55 million m3 already provided each year free of charge to Jordan. Under this agreement, Jordan is allowed to increase its exports to the West Bank occupied by Israel since 1967.