约旦国王阿卜杜拉二世于周一晚间抵达堪培拉，这是他10年来首次访问澳大利亚。此行日程安排满满，包括高层会晤、国防与文化交流，因为澳大利亚政府正努力争取在日益动荡的地区中获得一个稳定的伙伴。“在世界各地不确定性日益增加之际，澳大利亚与约旦之间持续的国防与安全合作至关重要，作为地区安全伙伴，”澳大利亚总理安东尼·阿尔巴尼斯表示。
One of Australia's most important allies in the Middle East has touched down in Canberra for the first time in 10 years. King Abdullah II of Jordan arrived late on Monday night with a schedule full of high-level meetings, defence and cultural engagements, as the government schmoozes up a stable partner in an increasingly volatile neighbourhood. "In a time of increasing uncertainty around the world, ongoing defence and security cooperation between Australia and Jordan is essential, as regional security partners," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.
周二，阿卜杜拉国王会见了众议院议长米尔顿·迪克，届时总理将为他铺设红毯。国王上次访问澳大利亚是在2016年。自2017年以来，堪培拉已向约旦提供1.3亿澳元的人道主义资金，以帮助其应对叙利亚内战的冲击——这场战争使约旦成为数十万难民的避难所。但尽管约旦西临以巴冲突、北接叙利亚、东邻伊拉克，它仍被证明是中东地区最稳定、最和平的国家之一，也是一个可靠的国防伙伴。
On Tuesday, King Abdullah met House of Representatives Speaker Milton Dick, as the prime minister prepares to roll out the red carpet. The King's last visit to Australia was in 2016. Canberra has provided Jordan $130 million in humanitarian funding since 2017 to help cushion it against the Syrian Civil War, which made the kingdom a haven for hundreds of thousands of refugees. But despite being near the conflict between Israel and Palestine to its west, Syria to its north and Iraq to its east, Jordan has proven one of the Middle East's most stable, peaceful countries and a dependable defence partner.
根据人权基金会的说法，其稳定性部分得益于自2011年阿拉伯之春抗议爆发以来不断加强的安全机构，该基金会将约旦归类为完全专制国家。但今年9月，阿卜杜拉国王在纽约联合国大会上抨击以色列在加沙的人权侵犯行为，呼吁世界领导人合作维护法治，因而一举成为新闻焦点。美国与伊朗的冲突也严重打击了约旦的旅游业——该地区旅游业本身就是中东最强劲的行业之一。澳大利亚与约旦之间的贸易额每年约为5亿美元，主要集中在农产品领域。
Its steadiness is partly aided by a security apparatus which has ratcheted up since protests erupted during the 2011 Arab Spring, according to the Human Rights Foundation, which classifies Jordan as fully authoritarian. But in September, King Abdullah grabbed headlines by blasting Israeli human rights violations in Gaza at the UN General Assembly in New York, pleading with world leaders to cooperate to uphold the rule of law. The US's war with Iran has also ravaged Jordan's tourism sector, which is one of the Middle East's strongest. Trade between Australia and Jordan is worth about half a billion dollars a year, mostly in agricultural products.
阿卜杜拉国王的哈希姆王朝起源于1000多年前的麦加——伊斯兰教的发源地。然而，该王朝直到1921年才开始统治如今的约旦王国。这一悠久的历史使哈希姆王朝成为穆斯林世界中最古老的王朝。
King Abdullah's royal house, the Hashemites, traces its lineage back to Mecca, the birthplace of Islam, more than 1000 years ago, but it has only ruled over the modern-day state of Jordan since 1921. The impressive ancestry makes them the oldest dynasty in the Muslim world.