Al-Mikdad: We are grateful to Jordan for the assistance it provides to Syria after earthquake ordeal

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Faisal Al-Mikdad expressed Syria’s thanks to Jordan for the assistance it provided to it to face the repercussions of the earthquake disaster, stressing that it is normal for Jordan’s king, government and people to stand with their brothers in Syria.

Al-Mikdad said in a press statement on Wednesday when he bid farewell to Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriate Affairs Ayman Safadi at Damascus International Airport: We have been cooperating for a long time and highly appreciate Minister Safadi’s visit, because it comes at the right time, as Syria suffered during the past days from the earthquake disaster.

Al-Mikdad added: The words addressed by His Majesty King Abdullah II to President Bashar Al-Assad, condoling the victims of the disaster, alleviated the suffering of the Syrians. This visit highlighted the sentiments of the Jordanian leadership and people towards Syria, and we affirm that our pains, feelings and joys are the same.

Al-Mikdad continued: There is a special impact on the hearts of all Syrians, leadership and people, and we are grateful for the generous aid sent by the Jordanian state and citizens to Syria. We wish the Jordanian people all happiness, well-being and comfort, and that they not go through such disasters that we went through during the last period.

For his part, Safadi said: I met President Bashar Al-Assad and conveyed to him the condolences of His Majesty King Abdullah for the victims of the earthquake and his keenness and assurance that Jordan will provide everything it can to help the brotherly Syrian people to deal with the consequences of this earthquake, which claimed many lives. We are two brotherly countries that have much in common, and we are affected by what is happening to each other, so we stand with each other.

He added: We are in Damascus today as an expression of the solidarity of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan with our brothers in the Syrian Arab Republic in facing the consequences of this earthquake, and to discuss what we can offer to help the brotherly Syrian people. Since the very beginning, the directives of King Abdullah were to provide everything we can to our brothers so that we can deal with the consequences and repercussions of this crisis in order to overcome it.

The Jordanian foreign minister stated that his country had sent many planes and trucks to help Syria in coordination with the Syrian government and with the United Nations to deliver aid to all the Syrian people who were affected by the earthquake. He confirmed that Jordan’s message is clear that it stands by the brotherly Syrian people in providing everything it can to overcome this crisis, and that the coming days will witness the dispatch of more aid, as a new aid plane will arrive today, as well as many trucks across the borders.

Safadi said: The visit was also a station to discuss our bilateral relations and the efforts exerted to reach a political solution to the crisis in Syria that preserves its unity and sovereignty and restores its security and stability, and creates conditions that allow the return of refugees and rids Syria of terrorism, which poses a threat to all of us.

Inas Abdulkareem