King Abdullah II’s visit: India, Jordan eye new horizons

Amid raging conflicts in the Gulf region, India and the Hashemite kingdom of Jordan are set to transform and upgrade their strategic and economic ties during the visit of Jordan’s King Abdullah II to New Delhi.

The visit of the popular Jordanian monarch to India comes a little over a fortnight after he went out the way to receive Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Royal Palace on a national holiday and provided him an aircraft to take him to Palestine. Now, it’s PM Modi’s turn to reciprocate, and India has lined up a lavish reception and a substantive agenda for the king’s visit.

The King’s itinerary in India includes a visit to IIT Delhi, attending a CEO roundtable, participating in the India Jordan-Business Forum and addressing a conference on Islamic heritage and moderation.

The highlight of the visit will be the unveiling of a new framework for enhanced security and defence partnership. Given the rising threat of the Islamic State and assorted radical Islamist outfits in the region, India and Jordan are expected to bolster their counter-terror cooperation and forge joint programmes for deradicalization.

On the economic front, the two sides will focus on diversifying and expanding cooperation beyond textiles and fertilizers. With Jordanian economic condition none too bright, the Gulf kingdom is looking for enhanced trade and investment with the world’s fastest growing major economy. The 30-member business delegation accompanying King Abdullah will be participating in the Business Forum, along with 300 businessmen and investors from both the countries. The focus will be on firming up investment deals in areas such as infrastructure, energy, chemicals, ICT, pharmaceuticals and development and higher education.

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