“What happens in the Middle East has a way of making itself felt everywhere around the world,” said Abdullah II ibn Al-Hussein, speaking about the importance of stability in the Middle East and the potential dire ramifications of conflict in the region.

He mentioned the Israeli Palestinian conflict, recent tensions between Iran and the USA, the Syrian crisis and the situation in Libya as well as the importance of providing opportunities and hope for young people in the region.

“My father, the late king Hussein, taught me that peace-making is always the harder, but the higher path. And a tough road is best walked with our friends. Friends like you and the people of Europe, so that together we can reach the future that both our peoples aspire for and that they and our whole world deserve,” he said.

Responding to King Abdullah, Parliament President David Sassoli said: “I think the events in the earlier part of this year stress the importance of the work that we still have to do together.”