Top Turkish and Jordanian officials sought to deepen relations in talks on Tuesday, days after the kingdom restored full ties with Ankara’s ally Qatar, in what officials say is a realignment by Jordan away from longtime Gulf partners.
Visiting Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu met his Jordanian counterpart Ayman Safadi, and Turkey’s intelligence chief, defense minister and military chief of staff also had talks with senior Jordanian officials, diplomatic sources said.
A brief foreign ministry statement said both countries had agreed to develop their ties and expand economic cooperation and deepen coordination on regional issues.
Officials and diplomats privately say the warming of ties with Turkey and Qatar – two rivals of Gulf heavyweight Saudi Arabia – is a turnaround in a foreign policy that has in recent years backed Riyadh and the United Arab Emirates on most regional and inter-Arab conflicts.
Jordanian officials had long been wary of Turkey’s growing clout in the Arab world, where it has used its influence as a major Sunni power to compete with Saudi Arabia.
Amman has long depended on Arab monarchies in the Gulf to shore up its debt-burdened economy.
However, Gulf states in recent years reneged on pledges to help debt-burdened Amman with billions of dollars to soften the impact of IMF austerity reforms on its cash strapped economy.
National News Agency
24/07/2019
