EVERYONE knows the importance of the strategic location of the Kingdom of Jordan and its pivotal role in issues concerning Arabs.Through this, Jordan can play a pioneering role in bringing together the Arab-international perspectives, due to the wide relations the Jordanian king shares with major Western countries, and his extensive perception concerning the political mentality of its leaders. On the basis of this reality, the 28th Arab Summit, which is due to kickoff today on the shores of the Dead Sea, has huge importance.This is because of current sensitive situation in the region, as Israel is moving rapidly towards “Judaization” of occupied Jerusalem on one hand while on the other hand, Iraq and Syria are drowning in massacres through intertwined wars which are in turn spilling onto the entire Arab world. Since Jordan’s geographical location makes it the first defense line for the Gulf countries and it has been protecting itself from the flame of terrorism that is consuming everything in its northern and eastern neighbors, the leadership of Saudi Arabia has realized that fortifying this country’s economy represents one of the internal fortification aspects of the Gulf countries.Therefore, the 15 agreements, which were signed on the sidelines of the bilateral summit by King Salman Abdulaziz and King Abdullah II representing the governments of the two countries, symbolize a strong push for investment movement in Jordan and in the Gulf countries.The unprecedented reception that the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman Abdulaziz received in Amman on the eve of the Arab Summit depicts the reality of King Salman’s status in the eyes of King Abdullah II and the Jordanian people.This status is an interpretation of the historic relations between the two kingdoms and is in line with his royalty, symbol and role in leading the two nations - Arab and Islamic nations. This historic visit has brought amend out the promising economic and political potentials of King of Jordan and his country. Today’s Jordan stands on a vital position through which everyone in the region is looking upon it. Throughout the past decades, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been of exceptional importance to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.Events have affirmed the veracity of its consistent politics and stances. Since the 1950s to this very day, the Jordanian bearing has been heading towards the right direction. This is the politics followed by Abdullah II, the leader with the trait of openness when it comes to dealing with others and the son of Hussein who worked throughout his life to interpret the proper values and never neglected the Arab rights, especially when it came to issues concerning Jerusalem and Al- Aqsa Mosque.Undoubtedly, the timing of King Salman Abdulaziz’s two-day visit before the summit has political implications both regionally and globally. Part of it is the Saudi support for the Jordanian opinion in the summit, which is unique, considering the participation of 18 kings and amirs, presidents and prime ministers as well as representatives from the rest of the Arab countries and from some major international countries.If there have been other summits with historic outcomes, the outcome of the summit of the Arab leaders will be the start of a new stage for the Arab world in terms of the Arab-Arab relations and for escaping from the catastrophe known as the “Arab Spring” or “Arab-International relations”.The outcome of this summit will determine the level of relations in various aspects, especially with the United States of America. King Abdullah II will convey the unified vision in his upcoming tour to the USA, in terms of the Palestine — Israel peace process and the positions taken by the current US administration, which have resulted in perturbing ramifications on the region as a whole. Therefore, it is safe to describe this summit as the “Summit of Hope”, through which the Saudi and Jordanian leaders have together sown seeds.By Ahmed Al-Jarallah Editor-in-Chief, the Arab Times[email protected][email protected]