Jill Biden to attend Jordan royal wedding

US President Joe Biden and first lady have long-standing friendship with King Abdullah II and Queen Rania

The coming trip to Jordan and other regional countries will be Jill Biden's first trip to the Middle East as first lady. AP

First lady Jill Biden will attend the Jordan royal wedding as part of an upcoming trip to the Middle East, North Africa and Europe, the Associated Press reported.

It will be her first visit to the Middle East as first lady. She had travelled to Namibia and Kenya earlier this year.

Ms Biden is scheduled to depart on her six-day trip on Wednesday. In addition to Jordan, she is also to visit Egypt, Morocco and Portugal.

“The first lady believes that supporting youth across the world is critical to our common future, with education, health and empowerment at the heart of it,” said Vanessa Valdivia, her spokeswoman.

“With her visit to the Middle East and North Africa, the first lady will continue to build on her work to empower young people, and reaffirm our commitment to strengthen our partnerships and advance our shared priorities in the region."

In Amman, the capital of Jordan, Ms Biden will attend the June 1 wedding of Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah and Rajwa Al Saif, a Saudi architect.

President Joe Biden and the first lady have a deep and long-standing friendship with the Crown Prince's parents, King Abdullah II and Queen Rania.

As vice president, Mr Biden and King Abdullah often had breakfast when the king visited Washington to see his son, then a student at Georgetown University.

King Abdullah also visited Mr Biden at his home in Delaware after Mr Biden returned to private life.

The two have met at least three times since Mr Biden became President, twice at the White House and once in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Ms Biden is expected to promote women and youth while on her trip.

She will meet with women and young people while in Egypt and Morocco, where she will also also discuss US investments to support education programmes.

While in Portugal, she will underscore the importance of arts in diplomacy while joining the State Department in celebrating the 60th anniversary of its Art in Embassies programme.

The Associated Press contributed to this report