UPDATE: Healey's office said Thursday morning that King Abdullah's visit to the State House was cancelled "due to weather conditions and flight delays."
The ceremonial front doors of the Massachusetts State House will swing open Thursday as Gov. Maura Healey welcomes His Majesty King Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to the State House.
The king's visit will feature a roundtable talk with leaders from various industries to discuss business and economic ties between Massachusetts and the Arab nation, which is a key ally to the United States in the Middle East.
Healey and First Lady Joanna Lydgate will welcome the king and his delegation at the Bulfinch Entrance of the State House at 1:15 p.m. and, as a foreign head of state, he is expected to enter the State House through the seldom-used original front doors.
Those double doors open on only three occasions, according to the secretary of state's office: when a governor leaves at the end of their term, when a state military regiment returns flags after a war, and when a foreign head of state visits.
After the arrival, which press will be allowed to cover, Healey and the king will go behind closed doors to talk with representatives of the health care, life sciences, technology, financial services and higher education sectors, the governor's office said.
The 1:30 p.m. roundtable will also include Economic Development Secretary Yvonne Hao, Massachusetts Office of International Trade and Investment Executive Director Jeevan Ramapriya, Director of the Office of His Majesty Alaa Batayneh, and Ambassador of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan to the United States Dina Kawar.
The king has a history and long-standing connections in Massachusetts. He attended Deerfield Academy, graduating with the Class of 1980, and the school said his "time at Deerfield inspired him to pursue significant education reforms in Jordan, including the opening of King’s Academy," a boarding school modeled on Deerfield.
He had also attended the Eaglebrook School in Deerfield as part of the Class of 1977, according to the school.
