(MENAFN- Jordan News Agency) His Majesty King Abdullah II, on Saturday, and Indian President, Pranab Mukherjee, held talks on ways to cement ties between Jordan and Indian, especially in economic spheres, and a number of Middle East issues.

King Abdullah emphasized the need to expand Jordanian exports to Indian and strike closer partnerships in areas of fertilizers manufacturing, information technology and pharmaceutical and defense industries. The King said he hopes the visit - the first for an Indian president to Jordan - opens broader scopes of cooperation between the two nations.

The King spoke about a number of agreement and memoranda of understanding the two countries will sign, including the inauguration of a multi-million joint Jordanian-Indian fertilizers factory.

Speaking on anti-terror efforts, His Majesty said terrorism is a global challenge and a war within Islam, noting that he discussed with president Mukherjee how to address this challenge.

The Indian president hailed Jordan as a model for civilization and tolerance and that the Kingdom and India maintain common values that are based on pluralism. He stressed that terrorism has become a cross-border challenge threatening the whole world.

He highlighted the King's speech at the United Nations General Assembly and said King Abdullah delivered a holistic view on how to combat terror and extremism and promote peace and security in the Middle East and the world.

Turning to bilateral relations, president Mukherjee said the two-way trade exchange amounted to $1.89 billion but India hopes to see the figure rising to $5 billion by 2020. He added that his country is interested in establishing long-term partnership with Jordan with regards to importing Jordanian phosphate.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour spoke during the meeting about key areas of investments in Jordan, including but not limited to, renewable energy, information technology, services and infrastructure, phosphate, potash and fertilizers industries.

Following the talks, King Abdullah and president Mukherjee inaugurated the world's largest sulphuric acid plant, a Jordanian-Indian joint venture built at a cost of $860 million. The joint venture between IFFCO (Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited) and JPMC (Jordanian Phosphate Mines Company) plant, which was conceived in 2007, is now operational in the town of Eshidiya in southern Jordan.