Pakistan confers highest civilian award on Jordan’s King Abdullah II

• King Abdullah II, President Asif Ali Zardari review regional and global developments, with a focus on the Middle East
• The two leaders reject any displacement of Palestinians, emphasize need for a Two-State solution, Zardari’s office says

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday conferred Pakistan’s highest civilian award, ‘Nishan-e-Pakistan,’ on Jordan’s King Abdullah II during his state visit to the South Asian country, President Zardari’s office said.

The honor was bestowed on the visiting monarch at a special investiture ceremony attended by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, members of the federal cabinet, military chiefs and members of the diplomatic corps.

On the occasion, the Jordanian king also conferred on President Zardari the ‘Wisam Al-Nahdah Al-Mursa,’ or the Order of the Renaissance, according to the Pakistan president’s office.

President Zardari and King Abdullah earlier held a meeting, at which they reaffirmed longstanding, fraternal ties between Pakistan and Jordan, and discussed the full range of bilateral relations.

“They also reviewed regional and international developments of mutual concern, with particular focus on peace, stability and security in the Middle East,” the president’s office said in a statement.

“They noted the need to build on the strength of these relations and to encourage greater people-to-people contact between the two countries.”

Both sides underlined the importance of working together in multilateral forums and of promoting humanitarian and development cooperation, according to President Zardari’s office.

On Palestine, the president and the Jordanian king reiterated their shared principled position on post-war Gaza.

“They rejected any displacement of Palestinians and emphasized the need for a Two-State solution. They called for the establishment of an independent, sovereign, viable and contiguous State of Palestine on pre-June 1967 borders with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital,” the statement read.

“Both leaders expressed confidence in the future direction of Pakistan-Jordan relations and agreed to maintain close coordination on bilateral, regional and global issues.”