On Thursday, Jordan’s King Abdullah II and US President Joe Biden held their fourth meeting in about a year and a half, reflecting Washington’s keenness to communicate with Amman.

The American interest in Jordan stems from the latter’s geopolitical position in mediating the crises of the region and the Middle East, and the need to draw a map for future moves, in light of the significant escalation of the level of tension in it.

2021

On January 21, King Abdullah II – via a tweet on Twitter – congratulated Biden on his inauguration as President of the United States, expressing his aspiration to work with him to achieve global peace and prosperity.

On April 8, the king received a phone call from Biden, in which the latter expressed the United States’ “total” solidarity with the kingdom, and its support for measures and decisions to preserve its security and stability, in conjunction with the arrests of what was known at the time as the “sedition” case that was linked to Prince Hamza bin ELHussein.

King Abdullah and Biden held a summit in Washington on July 19, 2021, to be the first meeting the American president held with an Arab leader, in which they discussed prospects for partnership between the two countries, in addition to regional and international developments, with the Palestinian cause at the top of its agenda.

2022

On April 25, the two sides affirmed, during a phone call, their commitment to continue working towards achieving peace in the region and the world, and the Palestinian issue was the most important file present in the bilateral talks, according to what was announced at the time.

After 18 days of contact, specifically on May 13, King Abdullah and the American president held their second meeting in Washington, during which the king called for intensifying international efforts to relaunch negotiations between the Palestinian and Israeli sides.

Only two months passed, until the two sides returned and met for a third time, but in a different place, on the sidelines of the Arab-American summit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on July 16, in which Biden announced Washington’s intention to sign a new memorandum of understanding with Jordan, through which annual aid would be provided to the Kingdom. Not less than $1.45 billion, for the period between 2023 and 2029.

2023

On Thursday, King Abdullah and Biden held their fourth meeting, at a time when the confrontation between the Palestinians and the Israelis intensified, and resulted in deaths on both sides.

This means that anxiety and fears dominate Amman and Washington about what these situations will lead to, as well as possible developments, especially between Iran and the Israeli occupation.

Jamal al-Shalabi, a professor of international relations at the Hashemite University (governmental), believes that “this communication reflects the depth of the Jordanian-American relationship and its history that dates back to the fifties of the last century.”

Al-Shalabi says; “The United States believes that Jordan is a main actor in the process of stabilizing the Middle East and the region, and therefore both sides are aware of the importance of the transformations and developments taking place in the world, the Arab region, and the Middle East.”

And he considered that “this number of meetings with Jordan reflects the ability of a small country to weave deep and solid relations.”

Al-Shalabi pointed out that the most important US military bases are in Jordan, especially after the evacuation of most of its bases in the region.

And he ruled out that the Kingdom would be a way to target Iran, in light of signs of an Arab-Iranian rapprochement, considering that “America’s missiles and military technology do not need that.”

He expected that one of the reasons for the king’s visit to the United States would be “putting the American leadership at risk of expected Israeli policies, which may lead to a devastating war for everyone, at a time when Washington’s eyes are directed to the military front in Ukraine and the economic front with China.”

(Anatolia)