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Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - His Majesty King Abdullah on Thursday stressed the importance of benefitting from national expertise in all fields, and the necessity of coordination and joint work between authorities and civil institutions to identify political, economic and social priorities for the coming period.

During a meeting with the Jamaat Amman (Amman Group for Future Dialogues) think tank at Al Husseiniya Palace, the King noted the significance of transforming the constructive visions and research of specialised experts into realistic programmes, a Royal Court statement said.

The talks, the latest of His Majesty’s meetings with various groups of the Jordanian community, went over several domestic issues, with the economic situation at the forefront, on which King Abdullah expressed his confidence in the country’s ability to overcome the challenges.

King Abdullah affirmed the necessity of taking advantage of the available economic and trade opportunities in neighbouring countries, and the importance of centralising efforts on improving citizens’ living standards and the services provided for them, as well as mitigating the issues of poverty and unemployment.

The King reiterated the call for clarifying, for the public, the national policies and strategies that contribute to the development of the country’s political, economic and social conditions, referring in that regard to the importance of cooperation between the government, private sector, Parliament, syndicates and civil institutions.

It is imperative to identify the sectors that can uplift the performance of the economy, and focus efforts to develop them, he added.

On the political reform process, His Majesty said Jordan is carrying on with the drive.

Founder and president of Jamaat Amman, Bilal Tal, said the group seeks to address “negative phenomena” in society that hinder its progress, promoting self-reform as a start for the change process, steering away from serving narrow self-interests and towards serving the community and pluralism of ideas and specialties as a source of power and unity.

Other participants took turns to speak, urging solutions to the economic crisis and efforts to address the lack of public trust in state agencies, stressing, at the same time, that the group seeks to encourage a spirit of optimism and preaches against scepticism and belittling achievements.

They also highlighted the importance of building a positive image of Jordan as an attractive investment destinations in addition to enhancing awareness on administrative automation and promoting basic economic growth elements such as tourism.

The think tank’s members stressed the need for enhancing women’s participation in the economy and addressing challenges that obstruct that goal, at top of which is public transportation.

They also underlined investment in education and the need to launch scientific initiatives to improve the education system, in addition to increasing the youth’s awareness of politics and economy.

Discussions also also focused on the development of the industrial sector, renewable energy investments and developing the service sector to realise sustainable development.

The participants also underscored the concepts of the rule of law and stressed the need for addressing domestic violence.

Jamaat Amman, an institution that aims at consolidating positive dialogue and increasing citizens’ awareness and participation, includes among its members a number of experts in economic, political, social and development fields.

The meeting was attended by Royal Hashemite Court Chief Yousef Issawi and Adviser to His Majesty and Director of the Office of His Majesty Manar Dabbas.