King Abdullah of Jordan to Meet Biden at White House

Politics|Jordan’s king seeks to fortify ties with the U.S. aft a Trump-era thaw successful relations.

• July 19, 2021, 2:28 p.m. ET

President Biden connected Monday met with King Abdullah II of Jordan astatine the White House, a captious sojourn for a overseas person seeking to show that his state is backmost successful favour with the United States aft 4 years of a profoundly troubled narration with erstwhile President Donald J. Trump.

During his 22 years successful power, King Abdullah has been seen by American presidents arsenic a moderate, reliable state successful the Middle East, often playing the relation of envoy from the Arab satellite successful Washington.

That peculiar narration ended with Mr. Trump, who favored moving with Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States instead.

“Trump’s departure is simply a immense alleviation to him,” said Martin S. Indyk, a erstwhile U.S. ambassador to Israel and a erstwhile peculiar envoy for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. “Jared Kushner developed a bromance with M.B.S., and Jordan was fundamentally near retired successful the cold,” helium added astir Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia.

King Abdullah, for instance, was not consulted connected the Trump administration’s Mideast bid plan, which successful its archetypal mentation provided for annexation of the Jordan Valley. And King Abdullah was besides disquieted that American assistance to Jordan was successful jeopardy during the Trump era.

The United States has been the largest supplier of assistance to Jordan since 1994, erstwhile Jordan signed a bid pact with Israel, according to Lucy Kurtzer-Ellenbogen, manager of the Israeli-Palestinian struggle programme astatine the United States Institute of Peace.

“As overmuch arsenic this medication has tried not to get consumed by the Middle East, it is precise overmuch focused connected preserving stableness there,” Ms. Kurtzer-Ellenbogen said. “It sees Jordan’s relation arsenic cardinal successful that and 1 that was eclipsed successful the past fewer years.”

The king and Mr. Biden, successful opposition to the erstwhile president, person a agelong friendship. King Abdullah is the archetypal Arab caput of authorities to sojourn the White House since Mr. Biden took office, a motion that the United States wants to elevate Jordan erstwhile again to its accepted relation arsenic a determination peacemaker.

“We’ve been hanging retired unneurotic for a agelong time,” Mr. Biden said Monday afternoon, arsenic the 2 sat successful the Oval Office unneurotic up of their bilateral meeting. King Abdullah, who was accompanied by his eldest son, Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah II, noted that helium “had the privilege of knowing you with my begetter decades ago.”

King Abdullah’s wife, Queen Rania, did not be the gathering connected Monday, but was expected to person beverage with the archetypal lady, Jill Biden.

The White House property secretary, Jen Psaki, said successful a connection that the gathering volition supply an accidental to “showcase Jordan’s enactment relation successful promoting bid and stableness successful the region.”

Mr. Biden has besides indicated that helium plans to instrumentality a tougher stance connected Saudi Arabia.

Ahead of his sojourn to the White House, King Abdullah participated successful a concealed gathering earlier this period with the caller Israeli premier minister, Naftali Bennett, the archetypal acme betwixt the countries’ leaders successful 3 years, according to determination media reports. The Jordanian leader’s narration with Mr. Bennett’s predecessor, Benjamin Netanyahu, had been profoundly damaged.

The sojourn comes arsenic Jordan has been struggling amid coronavirus restrictions and arsenic King Abdullah has had to fend disconnected an alleged crippled — involving his ain fractional member — to overthrow him.

For Mr. Biden, whose overseas argumentation priorities are heavy focused connected China, King Abdullah is the benignant of determination histrion helium needs to cultivate to assistance support American interests successful the Middle East. King Abdullah is “putting up his manus for that role,” Mr. Indyk said.