His Majesty King Abdullah of Jordan on Sunday held talks with visiting German Defense Minister Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen on bilateral friendly ties, particularly in the defense and military fields, Petra news agency reported.

During a meeting held at Al-Husseiniya Palace, attended by Crown Prince Hussein Ben Abdullah, the Jordanian King lauded Germany’s aid offered to the Kingdom to help it carry out development programs and to counter ramifications of the volatilities in the Middle East.

Discussions also touched on Mideast developments, particularly those related to the Palestinian cause and Jerusalem.

His Majesty said the issue of Jerusalem should be resolved within a holistic settlement that achieves the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

The King said Jerusalem should remain a city of unity and a key to the realization of peace, conflict resolution and political crises in the Middle East.

The King called for the international community to assume its responsibility to back the Palestinian brethren and voiced need to work with the U.S. administration to reach a lasting and permanent settlement to the Palestinian cause.

Talks also touched on developments related to war on terrorism and underscored importance of intensifying coordination and cooperation among all concerned regional and global parties and within a holistic approach to counter perils of terror, that jeopardize security and stability in the region and the world as well.

For her part, the German Minister lauded Jordan’s key role towards regional issues characterized by a rational and wise policy and expressed keenness to offer further aid and expand cooperation on the various domains.

Germany is looking forward to play a more robust role in the region, with eye to resolving the refugee crises, she affirmed.

Royal Court Chief, Chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff, and Director of the King’s Office attended the meeting.