Jordan and Saudi Arabia signed a protocol during expanded talks in Riyadh to strengthen their bilateral coordination council, with the two foreign ministers set to head its general secretariat as the countries address regional security and economic ties.
The Jordanian Foreign Ministry said the agreement replaces the Jordanian-Saudi Joint Committee with the Supreme Coordination Council. Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan will head its general secretariat. Their ministries will follow the council’s work and arrange meetings for it, its committees and working groups. The body will be under the leadership of King Abdullah II and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Safadi said Jordan stood with Saudi Arabia in response to Houthi attacks and supported the kingdom’s efforts to protect its security and residents. He also denounced attacks on civilians and civilian or economic infrastructure, saying they violate international law, the U.N. Charter and Saudi sovereignty.
The ministers discussed measures to end regional escalation and limit its wider effects, the ministry said. Their agenda included respect for international law, good-neighborly relations, noninterference in other countries’ affairs and freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
Combined trade between the neighbors passed $4 billion in 2025, equal to 14% of Jordan’s total trade, according to the ministry statement. Jordan counted Saudi Arabia as its second-largest trading partner. Saudi investment in Jordan reached about $16 billion across transport, tourism, financial services and trade; the number of Saudi tourists visiting Jordan rose about 14% in 2025.
The council traces its roots to a 2016 founding agreement witnessed in Riyadh by King Abdullah II and Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz. In a separate Oct. 18 statement, the Gulf Cooperation Council’s Ministerial Council issued a condemnation of Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and called for U.N. arms restrictions on the group to be enforced.
