Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid, Jordan’s King Abdullah meet in Amman

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid, Jordan’s King Abdullah meet in Amman

Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid met with Jordan’s King Abdullah II in Amman on Wednesday, according to a statement from Lapid’s office.

During the meeting, which Lapid’s office characterized as “long and warm,” the two leaders discussed bilateral relations, as well as the recent visit to the region of U.S. President Joe Biden and the resulting possibilities and opportunities, including the seemingly changing “regional architecture.”

Among the specific projects discussed were the Jordan Gateway Industrial Park, the construction of solar-power facilities and desalination facilities in Israel, joint tourism in the Gulf of Eilat-Aqaba, food security, agriculture and transportation links.

During a visit to Jordan in April by Israeli President Isaac Herzog, the Jordanian monarch proposed that the two countries set up a joint wheat reserve and food storage center.

The proposal, which came against the backdrop of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, called for the setting up of joint reserves each country could draw from should it find itself in distress, and that could be expanded to include Egypt and the Palestinian Authority.