Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal said here Sunday that the movement is keen on building a "solid relationship" with Jordan.

"We want to cure and manage the relationship with Jordan with an open heart and mind to serve the Palestinian and the Jordanian interests," Mashaal, who were on his first official visit to Jordan since the country expelled him in 1999, said after a meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah II.

"We started 2012 with a meeting with the King and more will follow in the pursuit of a solid relationship that serves the interests of the two sides," he told reporters.

Mashaal expressed Hamas' support for Jordan's security and stability, and also voiced appreciation of the Jordanian king's support to the Palestinians, saying that he highly values the Jordanian leader's support to the Palestinians in Gaza and Jerusalem and the protection of holy sites in Jerusalem.