Astana, 5 November, . President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev awarded King Abdullah II of Jordan the Order of Al-Farabi and called him the first holder of this honour, the Akorda press service said.
The order bears the name of Al-Farabi, the great thinker of the East. According to Tokayev, the philosopher’s legacy inspires and serves as a moral compass for many generations, and he holds a special place in the Arab world. “It is especially symbolic that you became the first holder of this order. I consider it a historic event,” the President told the king.
At the talks in Akorda Tokayev called Jordan a time-tested and reliable partner in the Arab world. Last year’s mutual visits ended in a joint statement and numerous documents of ministries, agencies and business circles, and now, he said, it is important to carry out the agreements in practice. Economic cooperation remains one of the key drivers of relations, and there is potential in culture and the humanities as well: academic and scientific ties and tourist flows. King Abdullah II replied that the sides intend to expand cooperation in key areas, including trade, investment, tourism, technology and defence, as well as in regional security and in countering terrorism and extremism, Akorda said.
The main topic was the Aqaba Process, which the king launched more than ten years ago. The next summit will be held in Astana on 6 November: Kazakhstan co-organises it with Jordan, and it is the first meeting in this format in Central Asia. The session’s theme is security in the field of artificial intelligence. Tokayev expects the summit to present the vision of the Central Asian region.
In return the king presented Tokayev with Jordan’s highest state award, the Order of al-Hussain ibn Ali. The President said he sees the award not only as recognition of personal merit but as a sign of friendship and mutual respect between the two peoples. The order was established in 1949 by King Abdullah I in honour of his father, Sharif Hussein bin Ali of Mecca (1853–1931), one of the most significant members of the Hashemite dynasty.
What it means: The exchange of orders sealed the results of the talks on the eve of the Aqaba Process summit on AI security, which Astana holds in Central Asia for the first time. The reports contain no new agreements: the sides confirmed earlier arrangements and areas of work.
Who benefits: Kazakhstan: it gets a platform for talking about AI security and a chance to present the region’s view there. Jordan, in the king’s words, expects to expand trade, investment, technology and defence cooperation.
Background: A knight or holder of an order is a person who has received it; the Russian word comes from the French cavalier, “horseman”. Al-Farabi (about 870–950) came from Otrar; he wrote on logic, politics and music and is called the “second teacher” after Aristotle. Aqaba is a Jordanian port on the Red Sea, after which the king’s initiative is named.
We have also reported that Astana hosts leaders for three days.
