Peres heads to Jordan, may meet Abbas and Abdullah

President will travel Sunday to World Economic Forum, won’t comment on reports he’ll hold talks with key leaders

By Raphael Ahren 22 May 2013, 5:26 pm

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Raphael Ahren is a former diplomatic correspondent at The Times of Israel.

Shimon Peres (left) with Mahmoud Abbas during a 2010 meeting (photo credit: Jose Marquez/GPO/Flash90)

President Shimon Peres is to travel to Jordan on Sunday to participate in a meeting of the World Economic Forum. King Abdullah II is hosting the Friday-Sunday event on the Jordanian side of the Dead Sea, and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, other Arab leaders, and US Secretary of State John Kerry will also be present.

Peres’s office had not formally confirmed his Jordan travel plans as of Wednesday afternoon, and had no comment on reports that he might hold talks there with the king, Abbas and Kerry.

“Peres is scheduled to give a speech and meet with various leaders, some of them from Arab countries,” according to Ynet. “Concurrently, attempts are being made to organize a joint meeting” between Peres, Abdullah and Abbas, the site reported.

While Abbas and Abdullah — and many other senior government officials from across the Arab world — appear on the forum’s list of registered participants, Peres’s name is not listed.

Ahead of the trip, Peres will conduct a working meeting with Kerry Thursday evening in Jerusalem. According to the President’s Residence, the two leaders will “first and foremost” discuss Washington’s effort to restart peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. “They will also discuss the Iranian nuclear threat, the situation in Syria and strengthening bilateral relations,” Peres’s spokesperson said.

The annual World Economic Forum on the Middle East and North Africa, taking place this weekend in Jordan, is being held under the motto “Advancing Conditions for Growth and Resilience” and will focus on “shaping the region’s economic, social and governance systems of the future,” according to organizers.

At the forum’s meeting last year in Istanbul, no Israeli government representatives were present, ostensibly because of the frosty relations between Ankara and Jerusalem, which have since drastically improved due to US mediation.

At a WEF gathering in Davos in 2009, Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan stormed off stage after castigating Peres and Israel during a panel discussion. Turkey’s Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek is set to attend the Dead Sea conference; Erdogan is not.