Since Monday, King Abdullah II and Queen Rania of Jordan have been in Washington, DC where they have been meeting with politicians and participating in forums. This is the second working visit to the United States for Their Majesties since last year’s Arab Spring.
Click here to see more photos of the press conference
The King met with U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday and the two held a brief press conference in the Oval Office. They discussed Syria and the ongoing Mideast Peace Process.
Both leaders denounced the violence in Syria. King Abdullah was the first Arab leader to call for President Bashar al-Assad to step down, and Obama agreed that they were “continuing to see unacceptable levels of violence inside that country” and went on to say that the U.S. will “continue to consult very closely with Jordan to create the kind of international pressure and environment that encourages the current Syrian regime to step aside so a more democratic process can take place inside of Syria.”
The King was asked about the stalled peace process between Israel and the Palestinians, and he answered, “We have to keep our fingers crossed and hope that we can bring the Israelis and Palestinans out of the impasse.”
Accompanying the Jordanian King and Queen is their eldest son, Crown Prince Hussein. After his father finished meeting with President Obama, Hussein and the King met with Vice President Joe Biden and the Secretary of Defense. These meetings are likely meant to prepare the Crown Prince for his future role as King of Jordan. After all, he will be 18 years old later this year.
While her husband and son were visiting with Washington’s most powerful, Queen Rania was not sitting around. On Tuesday, she attended a United Nations Foundation luncheon at the Newseum. As a board member, Rania discussed ways to make the world better for women and for children.
Her Majesty later attended the event 10×10 – Educate Girls. Change the World.
For Wednesday, King Abdullah met with Treasurer Timothy F. Geithner and talked about the U.S. – Jordanian economic links, and the possibility of providing financial aid to the Hashemite Kingdom. Also at the meeting was Jordanian Prime Minister Awn Khasawneh.
Also that day, the King met with Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, head of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, who called for Abdullah to do the following:
“Jordan has not yet appointed an ambassador to Israel in the year and a half since the previous ambassador moved on, and I would strongly encourage you to do so,” she told him.
Ros-Lehtinen also agreed with him that the Syrian President should resign.
“I share that view because Iran is certainly doing all it can to keep Syria afloat but the people are rising up,” she said.
On Thursday, King Abdullah II will address the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Sources: USA Today, The Royal Forums, Petra, AFP
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