His Majesty King Abdullah on Wednesday discussed bilateral relations and regional developments with heads and members of committees in the UK House of Commons and House of Lords.

King Abdullah started his meetings with heads and members of the foreign affairs, international development and defence committees in the UK House of Commons, followed by a meeting with heads and members of the International Relations Committee in the House of Lords.

Talks focused on boosting cooperation between Jordan and the UK, especially in the economic, military and security fields.

His Majesty voiced the Kingdom’s appreciation of the UK’s support to help Jordan implement its development programmes and its assistance in shouldering the Syrian refugee crisis’ burdens.

The King highlighted the importance of following up on the outcomes of the London donor conference held in February 2016, and on the commitment of donor parties to aid countries hosting Syrian refugees, on top of which is Jordan.

The meetings also focused on regional issues, mainly the war on terrorism, the Palestinian-Israeli peace process and the Syrian crisis.

His Majesty stressed the importance of intensifying the efforts of all regional and international parties to eradicate terrorism within a comprehensive strategy, also stressing the importance of enhancing moderate speech.

The King warned of the danger of Islamophobia and the alienation of Islamic societies in the West. He pointed out the risk of extremists using such phenomenon as a means to advance their terrorist agenda, adding that hate speech should be contained to avoid discord and protect Western Islamic communities from extremism.

As for the Palestinian-Israeli peace process, His Majesty highlighted the importance of achieving peace based on a two-state solution, which, he said, is the only solution to end the conflict.

The King added that the lack of a fair and comprehensive political solution to the Palestinian issue would only lead to more extremism.

Concerning the Syrian crisis, His Majesty said it should end with a political solution reached with the participation of all Syrians and within the framework of the Geneva negotiations currently under way.

The two meetings focused on efforts exerted to cease fire in Syria and ensure stability in the southern part of the country, in addition to the importance of Russian-American cooperation to help reach a political solution to the crisis.

They also covered developments in Iraq and the goal of achieving national reconciliation.

The UK members of parliament voiced appreciation of Jordan’s pivotal role in dealing with the crises and challenges facing the Middle East and commended His Majesty’s leadership in achieving security and stability for the people.

They highlighted the importance of having the international community shoulder its responsibilities to support Jordan and host communities and enable them to handle the burdens of the Syrian refugee influx, as well as provide the necessary humanitarian aid to the refugees.

The meetings were attended by Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, King’s Office Director Jafar Hassan and Jordan’s Ambassador to the UK Mazen Homoud.

His Royal Highness Prince Feisal bin Al Hussein was sworn in as Regent.

In statements to the Jordan News Agency, Petra, UK House of Commons’ Defence Committee Chairman Julian Lewis described the meeting with the King as informative.

Lewis said the meeting focused on the situation in Jordan, commending the Kingdom’s approach to the challenges it faces.

MP Madeleine Moon said ties between the two countries were already deeply rooted and that more cooperation was expected in numerous fields, praising His Majesty’s vision towards several issues.

The Foreign Affairs Committee’s chair, Crispin Blunt called for continuous support of Jordan in addressing the economic challenges resulting from the regional situation, and commended the King’s efforts on the international level.

Wendy Morton, member of the International Development Committee, said she visited Jordan last year and noticed Jordan’s efforts in dealing with the Syrian refugee crisis. She called for more aid to the Kingdom.

Chairman of the International Relations Committee Lord Howell stressed the importance of the meeting with King Abdullah as it covered the “escalating and complicated” changes in the Middle East.

He described the ties between Jordan and the UK as strategic and called for increasing support for the Kingdom to help address the refugee crisis.