(MENAFN- Jordan Times) Ambassadors in Jordan Speak Out: Foreign Policy Making in a Changing World
Edited by Marwan Asmar
Amman: Middle East Studies Centre, 2017
Pp. 102
This brief but fact-filled book offers a unique glimpse into the world of diplomacy and Jordan's relations with five different countries — Arab and/or Asian — and Europe. It consists of lectures by the ambassadors to Jordan from Morocco, Malaysia, Sudan, Turkey, Pakistan and the European Union, delivered as part of the 'World and Us' programme in 2015-16. As explained in the preface by Jawad Al Hamad, president of the Middle East Studies Centre (MESC), the 'World and Us' programme 'revolves around hosting foreign envoys in a seminar-based discussion to present lectures to a select group of politicians, decision-makers, activists and academics'. It aims 'to create greater understanding between world countries and this crucial strategic region of the globe'. (pp. 7-8)
Marwan Asmar, political researcher and editor of the book, introduces each ambassador with a short political bio. In his view, the lectures are 'invaluable because they are inevitably interdisciplinary', tackling 'issues involving economics, finance, agriculture, education, culture, administration, sociology and development'. Although these subjects are studied in academia, 'the lectures expostulated by the ambassadors are different because they are practitioners of diplomacy'. (p. 101)
While all the ambassadors address questions related to stability and security in the context of the current regional turmoil, as well as issues of trade and other forms of cooperation and exchange with Jordan, each has a different emphasis.
Morocco's Ambassador Al Hassan Abdul Khaleq devotes much of his lecture to the political and constitutional reforms enacted in his country, noting similarities in the approaches adopted by Jordan and Morocco. It is with pride that he tells of the formation of the Equity and Reconciliation Commission to handle past human rights violations, a first in the Arab world: 'Moroccans took a brave step to look at themselves and their history without complications to reconcile their past and bypass its wrongs.' (p. 18)
Malaysia's Ambassador Zakri Bin Jaafar shares his country's development model whereby an ethnically diverse society has achieved greater equality and integration. He speaks of key economic cooperation agreements between Malaysia and Jordan, but considers the most outstanding exchange to be in education: 'Malaysian students form the biggest number of non-Arab students here in Jordan, numbering over 3200.' (p. 29)
Meanwhile, almost 1000 Jordanians are studying in Malaysia. He also reminds that Malaysia has always been 'very vocal and very strong on the issue of Palestine'. (p. 33)
Sudan's Ambassador Elsadig Bakheit Elfaki reviews the special relations prevailing between Sudan and Jordan, stressing cooperation in the fields of agriculture, education, security and medicine in particular, and giving Jordanian doctors and specialists credit for reviving the medical sector in his country.
Turkey's Ambassador Sedat Onal stresses commonalities between Jordan and his country 'in the way they have come to represent moderation, peaceful coexistence, stability, and a positive agenda' that should be generated in the region as a whole. 'We need to engage in soul-searching… to get back to the original sense of togetherness this region has lived in for centuries.' (p. 53)
Besides economic cooperation, he advocates a political solution in Syria and dealing with the refugee crisis--concerns that Turkey shares with Jordan.
EU Ambassador Andrea Matteo Fontana speaks about Europe's new global security strategy and Neighbourhood Policy, which includes Jordan and the Middle East. Quite candidly he acknowledges that in the past Europe set priorities regardless of whether these were really shared by its neighbours. 'We would like to change that to achieve a higher degree of ownership… we are going to identify less priorities… but these are fully owned by our partners.' (p. 76)
Pakistan's Ambassador Lt-Gen. Shafat Ullah Khan names cardinal issues of Pakistan's foreign policy vis-à-vis China, Muslim states, Palestine and Kashmir, before proceeding to detail Pakistan's historical relations with Jordan in the political, economic, technical, educational and military fields. He names many examples to illustrate his assertion that 'Jordan and Pakistan always stand together in time of need'. (p. 88)
Taken together, the ambassadors' words pay tribute to Jordan's positive role in the region and the value they attach to its stability. They also reveal the difficulties of formulating policies in a changing world, as well as many parallels among these countries' positions on settling conflicts and countering terrorism. 'Ambassadors in Jordan Speak Out' can be obtained from MESC (e-mail: [email protected])
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