CAIRO: King Abdullah of Jordan was in Cairo on Tuesday where he held a meeting with Field Marshal Mohamed Tantawi, chief of Egypt's ruling military council. The talks were to develop means to boost bilateral cooperation and other issues of mutual concern between the two countries. During the two-way talks between King Abdullah and Tantawi, Jordan's king stressed his nation's full commitment to strengthening relations with Egypt and building on previous cooperation that will serve the interests of both countries, according to a Royal Jordanian statement issued Tuesday evening. Addressing the latest developments in the Middle East region, the two countries agreed to continue their ongoing consultations and coordination in order to boost joint action which serves Arab causes important to both. King Abdullah said he hopes Egypt will continue to play a vital role under the new leadership that will be pivotal to the Arab world and that the Egyptian people will be able to achieve their aspirations for increasing the country's development, progress and democracy. The meeting was attended by Egyptian Prime Minister Essam Sharaf, Finance Minister Samir Radwan and Petroleum Minister Abdullah Ghorab. King Abdullah's visit to Egypt comes at a time when relations between the two countries are strained following Cairo's insistence on renegotiating its contract to export gas to the Hashemite Kingdom. Prior to the April attack on the gas pipeline which runs between the two countries, Jordan had been importing 6.8 million cubic metres of Egyptian gas per day – enough to supply 80% of Jordan's demand. Under the terms of the 14-year deal signed by Jordan in 2002, Jordan had been paying Egypt half of the market price for gas. Prime Minister Sharaf said earlier this month that Egypt would review its contracts with Jordan and other countries including Israel amid accusations that Mubarak's government had improperly negotiated gas sales at preferential prices. Egypt's chief prosecutor, Abdel Meguid Mahmoud recently ordered former energy minister Sameh Fahmy along with five other senior energy officials detained for questioning over the shady gas deals. The Jordanian government has agreed to reopen its natural gas contract with Egypt and to pay market standard prices. King Abdullah returned to Jordan on Tuesday night after what his office called “successful and progressive” meetings with Tantawi.
