LONDON, 25 June 2022, (TON): 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.

Abdullah said “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.”

He added “the mission statement has to be very, very clear. Otherwise, it confuses everybody.”

The 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.