Jordan’s king begins Europe tour covering 4 countries

By Liath Al-Jnaidi and Mohammad Sio

AMMAN, Jordan / ISTANBUL (AA) – Jordan’s King Abdullah II began a tour to Europe on Tuesday that includes stops in Italy, the Vatican, Hungary, and Slovenia to boost cooperation and discuss regional stability.

A royal court statement said Abdullah will meet in Italy with President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and co-chair a new round of the Aqaba Meetings, an initiative the king launched in 2015 to promote international cooperation in countering terrorism and extremism.

The king will also visit the Vatican to meet Pope Leo XIV for the first time since the pontiff’s inauguration this May.

In Budapest, King Abdullah is scheduled to meet Hungarian President Tamas Sulyok, Prime Minister Viktor Orban, and members of parliament, the statement said.

The tour will conclude in Slovenia, where the king will participate in the Med9 Summit of southern European countries hosted by Ljubljana this year.

According to the statement, King Abdullah was invited for the second consecutive year and remains the only leader from outside southern Europe to attend.

In Ljubljana, he will also hold talks with Slovenian President Natasa Pirc Musar and Prime Minister Robert Golob.

The royal court did not specify the duration of the tour, which comes a day after the king participated in the Gaza peace summit in Egypt’s Red Sea city of Sharm el-Sheikh.