State visit by Angela Merkel to Jordan (2018)
The German Chancellor Angela Merkel traveled to Jordan on June 21, 2018 for a half-day state visit . It was her second visit to this country after 2007.
program
Merkel first visited the state German-Jordanian University (GJU) in Amman , where she was welcomed by the President of the University of Manar Fayyad . She took part in a discussion with students. Topics were refugee policy, the Syrian conflict, educational issues and the advancement of women. Merkel said u. a .: "We have to be an open country", but "of course we have to organize and steer more". She admitted that the many refugees in Germany are also a "great challenge". The “own population also have wishes and worries”. This has to be kept in balance.
Then King Abdullah II received Merkel in the Husseiniya Palace for a bilateral discussion. She spoke with the King and with Crown Prince Hussein about relations between the two countries and the situation in the region. Merkel promised to support Jordan in its reform efforts demanded by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) with an additional loan of 100 million US dollars. She expressed her "great respect" for Jordan's achievements in caring for hundreds of thousands of refugees, especially from Syria. The meeting ended with lunch together.
At the end of her visit, Merkel visited the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in al-Azraq , where she met with Bundeswehr soldiers who are part of a coalition in the fight against the terrorist militia Islamic State (IS).
In the afternoon Merkel flew on to Lebanon .