His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday said that upgrading the living conditions of Jordanians is the first and foremost national priority, urging more efforts in that direction.

Inaugurating the 17th Parliament’s third ordinary session with the Speech from the Throne, King Abdullah stressed that economic projects the government seeks to implement are primarily centred around improving citizens’ living conditions, adding that achieving sustainable growth and a productive economy should be at the heart of any economic endeavour.

“The time has come for the government to present draft legislation to your esteemed assembly that establishes a Jordanian investment fund. This fund should attract investments from banks, Arab sovereign wealth funds, private sector enterprises and individuals, targeting national development and pioneering projects that yield benefits to the national economy as well as those contributing to the fund.”

His Majesty underlined that Jordan has succeeded in turning challenges into opportunities by adopting a comprehensive roadmap seeking to achieve progress, sustainable development and a better future for Jordanians, citing the municipalities, decentralisation, political parties and elections laws as the cornerstones of the envisioned reform.

“We consider both the municipalities and decentralisation laws as a cornerstone for broadening the role and responsibilities of local administrations in our governorates,” the King said.

“These laws are also crucial for deepening citizens’ participation and empowering them to contribute towards identifying their priorities, in addition to formulating a future vision for their areas’ development plans and distributing developmental gains more equally and effectively.

 “Moreover, the Political Parties Law contributes to creating an environment conducive to participation in political parties, according to goal-driven national platforms.

“We also look forward to a more advanced elections law that helps us move forward in developing our democratic life by providing fairer representation and elevating the quality of parliamentary work in order to realise our vision for forming parliamentary governments.”

His Majesty also underlined the need to build on success achieved in various sectors, including energy, water, transport and ICT, through “the highest degree of cooperation and coordination between all institutions as well as between the private and public sectors”.

“As for education — a field that defines Jordan’s future — there must be a qualitative leap and radical reform. This requires implementing the government’s programmes and the forthcoming recommendations of the National Committee for Development of Human Resources, all in an effort to boost Jordan’s ranking regionally and internationally. Here, our priorities include teachers’ training, so they are better equipped to assume their instrumental role,” the king noted.

On regional and international issues, the King stressed Jordan’s commitment to its historical Arab and Islamic stances and to world peace and security, reiterating the centrality of the Palestinian cause in Jordanian diplomacy and the Hashemite custodianship over Jerusalem’s holy sites.

“[Jerusalem] remains a responsibility we embrace out of historical and religious duty as well as our custodianship over its holy sites. It is a responsibility that was carried proudly by our forefathers — and will continue to be carried proudly by our future generations — in defence of this holy city against violations and attempts to change its character. We are honoured to continue upholding this responsibility.”

Turning to Syria, the King reiterated Jordan’s unaltered position in support of a comprehensive political solution that can put an end to ongoing war and to the Syrians’ large-scale suffering, and safeguard the territorial unity of their war-torn country.

His Majesty also underlined that terrorism will remain the region’s and the world’s greatest threat, especially from “khawarej”, the outlaws of Islam, describing efforts to eradicate extremist and radical ideologies as a “collective responsibility”.

“However, this collective responsibility, in its essence, is our fight as Muslims against those who aim to hijack our societies and future generations. Jordan will continue to fight attempts to tarnish our true righteous religion because the fight against these forces of evil, darkness and terror is our fight, especially since we are the primary target of the enemies of Islam,” the King asserted.

“And here, we would like to salute our brave members of the Jordan Armed Forces and security agencies, serving in various fields of honour and bravery, and offering their lives to defend our homeland, protect our achievements and safeguard the security of our country and citizens.”