The Royal Court of Norway has announced King Harald V and Queen Sonja have accepted King Abdullah II’s invitation to pay a state visit to Jordan from 2 to 4 March 2020.

The visit will provide an opportunity to explore business opportunities between Norwegian and Jordanian partners including renewable energy, water technology, tourism and cancer treatment.

The Foreign Affairs Minister, Ms Ine Eriksen Søreide,, the Trade and Industry Minister, Ms Iselin Nybø, and a business delegation will accompany the King and the Queen.

King Abdullah and Queen Rania visited Norway in 2000 and this will be King Harald and Queen Sonja’s first state to the Middle East.

Amman

King Harald and Queen Sonja’s visit will commence in the capital, Aman, with an official welcoming ceremony and meeting their hosts.

Other engagements include:

• A hackathon held under Innovation Norway’s Humanitarian Innovation Programme to help young entrepreneurs, refugees, private sector representatives and technology experts with the aim of finding innovative solutions in the energy sector.
• Seminars on women’s entrepreneurship.
• Launching the Digital Public Goods Alliance.
• Music Norway and Oslo Wold Music Festival’s round table on strengthening women’s position in the music industry.
• The Trade and Industry Minister will host a reception showcasing Norwegian seafood.

Salt

King Harald and Queen Sonja will travel to the city of Salt for the next leg of their visit.

• Visiting a girls’ school with a football pitch in the schoolyard, built in partnership with the Norwegian Football Federation, to help Syrian refugee children an active everyday life and integrate into Jordanian communities with high numbers of refugees.
• Attend the Evangelical Lutheran Church decorated by painter Håkon Gullvåg and the Baptism site on the banks of the River Jordan to promote interfaith understanding.
• King Harald and Queen Sonja will host a reception by the Dead Sea which will include Norwegian and Jordanian cultural performances.

Petra

King Harald and Queen Sonja’s visit ends with a tour of Jordan’s most popular tourist attraction (and a UNESCO World Heritage Site), the ancient city of Petra, to highlight the importance of cultural heritage.