White House confirms Jordan king's visit to Washington

White House confirms Jordan king's visit to Washington
Jordan's King Abdullah II is set to visit Washington in an aim to 'reinforce the close friendship and enduring partnership between' both sides.
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The visit will be the long-time US ally's second to Washington since Biden took office [Getty]

Jordan's King Abdullah II will visit Washington on Friday for talks with US President Joe Biden, the US government confirmed on Tuesday.

The trip "will reinforce the close friendship and enduring partnership between the United States and Jordan", the White House said in a statement.

"Jordan is a critical force for stability in the Middle East and strategic partner and ally of the United States," it added.

The visit will be the long-time US ally's second to Washington since Biden took office, following talks between the king and the president in July 2021.

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At that time, Biden stressed his long-standing relationship with the king, noting that it goes back decades, to when Abdullah's father - King Hussein - ruled Jordan.

This week's trip comes after tensions have erupted between Jordan and US-ally Israel as scores of Palestinians were left wounded in Israeli raids on the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in April during the holy month of Ramadan.

Relations between Jordan and Israel had improved since Naftali Bennett became prime minister last year, but Amman expressed anger over repeated raids by Israeli forces at the third most holy site in Islam.

Abdullah appealed last month for "calm" between the two sides.