Jill Biden set to attend royal wedding in Jordan
WASHINGTON: Jill Biden will promote empowerment for women and young people - and atend a Jordanian royal wedding - during an upcoming trip to the Middle East, North Africa and Europe.
The first lady was scheduled to depart on Wednesday on a six-day trip that will take her to Jordan, Egypt, Morocco and Portugal.
Her office shared some details first with reporters. It will be Jill Biden’s first Middle East visit as first lady.
She travelled to Namibia and Kenya in February. “The first lady believes that supporting youth across the world is critical to our common future, with education, health, and empowerment at the heart of it,” said Vanessa Valdivia, her spokesperson.
“With her visit to the Middle East and North Africa, the first lady will continue to build on her work to empower young people, and reaffirm our commitment to strengthen our partnerships and advance our shared priorities in the region,” Valdivia said in an email.
In Amman, the capital of Jordan, Biden will atend the June 1 wedding of Crown Prince Hussein Bin Abdullah II, heir to the throne, and Rajwa Khaled Al Saif, an architect.
President Joe Biden and the first lady have a deep and longstanding friendship with the prince’s parents, King Abdullah II and Queen Rania.
When Joe Biden was vice president, he and King Abdullah oten met over breakfast when the king travelled to Washington to visit his son, then a student at Georgetown University. Abdullah also visited Biden at his home in Delaware ater Biden returned to private life.
The two have met at least three times since Biden became president, twice at the White House and once in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
In Egypt and Morocco, Jill Biden will connect with women and young people while focusing on US investments that help support education programmes and efforts to increase economic opportunity.
In Portugal, the first lady will help the US State Department celebrate the 60th anniversary of its Art in Embassies program, highlighting the role the arts can play in diplomacy.