24 June 2022
King Abdullah II of Jordan said he supports the idea of a Middle East military alliance built on the same lines as NATO.
Speaking to CNBC’s Hadley Gamble, the king said such a grouping could work with like-minded countries, but stressed its mission statement would need to be clear from the outset.
“I’d like to see more countries in the area come into that mix. I would be one of the first people that would endorse a Middle East NATO,” Abdullah said.
“The mission statement has to be very, very clear. Otherwise, it confuses everybody,” he added.
he king said he already saw his country as a “partner” of NATO, with Jordan having worked closely with the organization and its troops having fought “shoulder to shoulder” with NATO forces in the past.
As well as security and military cooperation, a closer alliance in the Middle East could help to address the challenges arising from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, especially with regard to energy and commodity prices, Abdullah said.
