(MENAFN- Jordan News Agency) Amman, August 20 (Petra) -- His Majesty King Abdullah II on Sunday met with notables and dignitaries from Jarash for a discussion of a number of domestic issues and development plans in the northern governorate.
The King thanked public servants, security agencies and the citizens for making last week's municipal and decentralization elections a success. In this context, His Majesty emphasized that the elected governorate councils and municipalities have major responsibilities in identifying and following up on development and service priorities and serving the local communities.
"To all those who won in the elections, work begins today to improve the economic situation and build a strategy for the governorates," he said.
His Majesty added:"What concerns me most is that citizens should feel the desired impact of decentralization through improving the quality of services and achieving an equitable distribution of development gains." The King stressed that the next stage requires cooperation among all and working in a team spirit to serve Jordan and Jordanians and look forward to the future with optimism.
King Abdullah indicated that the economy remains the main challenge, underlining that investment must be directed towards the governorates. He voiced the hope that cooperation between the government, parliament, local councils and municipalities will have positive developmental results.
His Majesty told the audience that he had instructed Royal Hashemite Court officials to expand support for productive projects for low-income families in all of the governorates, in addition to providing the necessary funding to help young people who have a profession to launch their own projects to improve their income.
Speaking on regional issues, the King indicated that he would discuss with a U.S. administration team prospects for restarting peace negotiations between the Palestinians and Israelis, which, His Majesty said, is "a responsibility for Jordan".
The King assured that the northern frontiers of the Kingdom are under control, pointing out that there is cooperation between Jordan, the U.S. and Russia to ensure calm in southern Syria.
He voiced his confidence in the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army to respond to any threat to the Kingdom's borders.
King Abdullah stressed that a political solution in Syria is the way to bring about calm in the Arab country.
With regard to the border with Iraq, the King pointed out that the defeat of the terrorist ISIS group and recent efforts by the Iraqi government will facilitate the reopening of the Amman-Baghdad highway.
AA
20/8/2017 - 06:53:02 PM
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