Moore hosts King Abdullah II of Jordan for economics roundtable discussion – Maryland Matters

On a dreary Wednesday morning, outside a hastily spruced-up Maryland State House, the state of Maryland and the Kingdom of Jordan began what was touted as a new relationship with a hug.

As the motorcade of nearly two dozen motorcycles, police cruisers and sport utility vehicles with flashing lights approached the front of the State House under drizzly skies, Gov. Wes Moore (D) and his wife, Dawn Flythe Moore, calmly stood outside on a patch of red carpet.

A black SUV pulled up and Abdullah II ibn Al-Hussein, the king of Jordan, stepped out of the vehicle. He shook hands and embraced the governor, and then shook hands with Moore’s wife.

Abdullah and the Moores then walked up State House steps that had been fitted with temporary brass handrails and about a dozen ferns, and headed into the building for a roundtable discussion on how Maryland and Jordan can collaborate on future economic opportunities.

While Abdullah has visited Maryland before, Moore said that his visit Wednesday marked the first time that a head of state has visited the Maryland State House on official business.

The king and the governor headed to the Governor’s Reception Room, where they sat down with a handful of administrators from Maryland universities and a dozen CEOs and executives from a range of companies, including Lockheed Martin International, Marriott International, McCormick and Co. and others.

“This is where you come together to talk about common goals, talk about common interests and talk about collaboration,” Moore said in opening remarks.

“We have brought leaders from across the state to engage in this historic visit. We look to have a very vibrant discussion about our people and our economies and our opportunities ahead,” he said. While Moore has met with other foreign leaders as governor, huddling with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Washington, D.C., in July, for example, this was his first time hosting.

Abdullah, who was in the U.S. for this week’s General Assembly at the United Nations, said that his visit to Maryland represents a new “relationship” between the state and his country.

The press were escorted out of the reception room after about 4 minutes of opening remarks. Few details of the meeting were available, but in a statement after the fact, the governor’s office said the more-than-90-minute meeting touched on “trade, investment and partnership opportunities between Maryland and Jordan.”

But one of the attendees, University of Maryland, Baltimore County President Valerie Sheares Ashby, called the meeting “extraordinary.”

Sheares Ashby said Abdullah began his comments talking about education.

“As a president of a university, you’re always the person talking about the transformative power of education, but to have the king and the governor say it and start the conversation with that basis was inspiring to me,” she said minutes after the meeting ended

“It was just a wonderful day,” she said. “Wonderful for the state. Wonderful for our global visibility and a fantastic day for higher education.”

While the meeting went on inside the State House, a drone flew above Lawyers Mall.

The meeting ended after noon. Abdullah talked and walked down down the broad steps alongside Moore.

At the bottom of the steps, the two men shook hands and embraced again. Then Abdullah stepped into a black SUV, and moments later the motorcade rolled slowly away from the State House.