THE Taoiseach, Mr Bruton, praised the role played by King Hussein of Jordan in helping to give the EU a greater role in the Middle East peace process after talks with him in Dublin yesterday.
Mr Bruton also hailed the recent agreement over the stationing of Israeli troops in the West Bank town of Hebron as "a triumph of diplomacy for the king". He also thanked him "for the assistance he gave the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dick Spring, during the presidency".
The Hibron agreement was reached after a personal intervention by King Hussein, thus defusing an issue which had threatened to derail the entire peace process.
King Hussein had originally been due to visit Ireland during Ireland's EU presidency in the second half of last year. The visit did not take place, however, due to scheduling difficulties.
As the holder of the last EU presidency, Ireland's Minister for Foreign Affairs is still a member of the troika of foreign ministers who conduct the EU's external relations. Mr Bruton, Mr Spring and the king also discussed trade between Ireland and the EU and Jordan at yesterday's talks.
King Hussein arrived at Dublin, airport yesterday afternoon, having piloted his own jet from Morocco. His wife, Queen Noor, arrived later yesterday afternoon as her jet, which was bringing her from London, was too small to land in the bad weather conditions.
The king visited Aras an Uachtarain, where he presented the President, Mrs Robinson, with the Al Hussein Bin Ali collar, a substantial gold item which is the highest Jordanian decoration and is given only to heads of state. He presented the Jordanian Order of the Star, First Grade, to Mr Nick Robinson.
The king also presented one of the highest Jordanian decorations of the Order of the Bejewelled Renaissance to the Taoiseach. Mr Bruton described the award as "phenomenal".
King Hussein told reporters after his meeting with Mr Bruton and Mr Spring that Jordan and Ireland had much in common. Both had always "taken pride in our heritage and our past and desire to be open to the rest of the world".
He said he was hopeful the Middle East peace process would continue to develop. "The process is still fragile, but we have crossed many dangerous points." Lost night the king and queen were due to attend a State banquet in their honour at Iveagh House hosted by Mr and Mrs Bruton.