KUWAIT. Mar 4: Jordan has halved its economic dependence on Iraq as part of its efforts to promote ties with Kuwait arid other Arab Gulf monarchies, the Jordanian foreign minister said here on Wednesday, reports AFP.

Abdel I’.ah Al-Khatib Lold the Kuwaiti press at the end of a landmark two-day visit here, that "Jordan is trying to cut its economic dependence on Iraq." the Kuwaiti news agency Kuna reported.

"The volume of trade has been reduced from 400 million dollars to 200 million dollars." he said, adding that Jordan's economy was going through "a very difficult stage and is trying to benefit as much as possible from the assistance of the Gulf Cooperation Council", which groups all the Gulf monarchies.

Like Saudi Arabia. Kuwait recently decided to supply oil to Jordan at preferential rates.

Al-Khatib is the first Jordanian foreign minister to visit Kuwait since the Gulf crisis of 1990-1991 during which Amman was accused of supporting Iraq.

The visit was marked by the reopening of the Jordanian embassy which Kuwait closed in 1991.

The Saudis had halted deliveries of oil to Jordan in September 1990 when Amman was perceived to be sympathetic to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait the previous month.