At present, Israel is trying to mend its frayed relationship with the Hashemite Kingdom.
“Jordan is a very important country. I have immense respect for King Abdullah, a great leader, and a highly significant regional actor,” Herzog said on Saturday after he revealed details of the visit.
It comes amid a slate of high-level meetings about the frozen peace process as well as regional and bilateral relations between Israel and its neighbors.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett also met with Abdullah in July. Bennett has not spoken publicly about his Jordan trip, but Abdullah has made comments twice that appeared to reference it.
Both Abdullah and Bennett visited United States to meet President Joe Biden in Washington this summer. The Jordanian monarch also had an audience with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
Herzog noted that Abdullah had “recently met extremely important leaders, including President Biden, President Putin, President al-Sisi, and Mahmoud Abbas.
“In our meeting, among the things we discussed were the core issues in the dialogue between our states,” Herzog said.
Israeli-Jordan relationship had been in crisis during the latter part of former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s tenure.
Bennett had immediately sought to make overtures to Jordan, with a major water and trade deal.
Herzog said that he spoke with Abdullah about additional steps that could assist Jordan. This included an “agreement to import agricultural produce during the shmita (agricultural sabbatical) year, energy issues, sustainability, and solutions to the climate crisis that we can advance together,” Herzog said.
In discussing the visit, Herzog also spoke of the importance of Israel’s expanding relations in the region.
He referenced the Abraham Accords by which Israel normalized ties with four Arab countries last year: the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan.
“There is a sense in the region of a desire to make progress, a desire to speak. We are currently marking one year since the signing of the Abraham Accords,” Herzog said.
“These accords created an important regional infrastructure. They are highly important agreements, which are transforming our region and the dialogue within it,” explained Herzog.
“I was happy to inaugurate the United Arab Emirates’ embassy in Tel Aviv at the start of my term, and I intend to speak with and meet other heads of state in the region.
“I speak with many leaders from all around the world, almost every day, in full coordination with the Government of Israel. I think that it is very important for the State of Israel’s strategic and diplomatic interests to engage everyone in dialogue,” Herzog said.
His office added that the king had invited Herzog to visit and that the two men had discussed bilateral and regional strategic issues.
The visit was coordinated between Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid.
It comes in advance of an anticipated meeting between Bennett and Egyptian leaders, although no date has been set for the trip.
Bennett, however, has dismissed the possibility of meeting with Abbas or even speaking with him on the phone. The peace process between Israelis and Palestinians has been frozen since 2014 and conversations between Netanyahu and Abbas were rare.
In an unusual move, Defense Minister Benny Gantz met with Abbas last week to discuss security matters and economic gestures.
Herzog spoke with Abbas after taking office. He told Channel 13 that he thought it was correct to speak with the Palestinians, particularly on the matter of security.
The absence of talks with the Palestinians will not contribute to Israel’s security, Herzog said.
Overall, he told Channel 13, when it comes to dialogue between Israel and Arab leaders there is a window of goodwill that Israel should make use of wisely.
