King Abdullah II to meet Joe Biden in Washington
JORDAN
After a difficult relationship with Donald Trump, Jordan’s king has a warmer rapport with Biden.
In a turn of fortune for Jordan’s King Abdullah II, who has been dealing with a series of domestic and external crises, the 59-year-old monarch is set to become the first Arab leader to meet with US President Joe Biden when he visits the White House on Monday.
A staunch US ally, the king has ruled Jordan for the past 21 years but experienced difficult relations with Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, who he believed was sidelining his country from regional developments.
“There was no warm relation between Trump and the king,” Saud al-Sharafat, a former brigadier-general in the Jordanian General Intelligence Directorate, told Al Jazeera.
“[Jordan’s] political leaders felt [Trump] was totally neglecting the Hashemite dynasty.”
In 2017 the king told Trump his decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel would have “dangerous repercussions on the stability and security of the region”, according to a palace statement.
Although Jordan established full relations with Israel in 1994, the king also opposed the deals the Trump administration brokered in 2020 with Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Sudan and Morocco establishing diplomatic relations with Israel.
Analysts say figures in Trump’s administration viewed the king as an obstacle to further deals.
The king is hoping for a better relationship with Biden.
“Jordan will be looking at a friend in Joe Biden,” Osama al-Sharif, an Amman-based political analyst, told Al Jazeera.
Biden’s administration has said they will not move the US embassy back to Tel Aviv, but will reopen its consulate general in Jerusalem, restoring ties with Palestinians.