Jordan Times
Sunday, January 30, 2005
King turns 43
Vision is to empower Jordan
By a staff reporter
AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah turns 43 today, looking back at an eventful year of working to fulfill his vision for Jordan and contributing to establishing peace in the Middle East, while looking ahead to domestic, regional and international opportunities.
As King Abdullah's birthday coincides with the
start of a new year, for him 2004 began with his efforts to advance his domestic
reform agenda, encourage a return to peace talks between the Palestinians and
Israelis, and urge an acceleration of steps to restore sovereignty to Iraq.
His visits and talks with leaders around the world centered on achieving
regional peace and stability, and promoting Jordan as a modern emerging country
with much to offer.
On the national front, the King emphasized that Jordan's pursuit of democracy
should result in more progress rather than any retreat. At a January 2004
Cabinet meeting, the Monarch underlined the importance of cooperation between
the government and Parliament, particularly on the debate to upgrade or
introduce socio-economic and political development legislation.
During that visit to the Prime Ministry, the first since the formation of the
government of Faisal Fayez in October 2003, King Abdullah said he hoped 2004
would be a prosperous year for Jordan. “Our primary aim,” the King told the
ministers, is “to improve the economic and social situations of citizens and
curb poverty and unemployment.”
The year proved Jordan's potential.
The Kingdom achieved real gross domestic product growth at more than 7 per cent,
the highest since 1992. In 2003, growth was 3.4 per cent. In a recent article,
economist Henry Azzam pointed to “the surge in business confidence, the
expansionary fiscal policy, the increase in exports — especially to the US,
higher capital inflows — especially from Iraqis, the rise in consumer lending,
the higher remittances from Jordanians working in the Gulf, and the financial
aid that the country is receiving as contributors to strong economic performance
in 2005 as well.” Highlights of 2004's impressive performance were found in the
construction sector which grew by 19.9 per cent, the manufacturing sector which
rose by 15 per cent, and the transport and telecommunications sector by 13 per
cent.
Exports boomed by 43.4 per cent in the first 10 months of 2004, with those to
the US, mainly goods produced in the QIZs, accounting for 27 per cent of total
exports — around $1 billion worth.
The push to reduce poverty and unemployment was evident in the past year as the
Vocational Training Corporation reported a 10 per cent increase in the number of
students who enrolled in the VTC's 42 training centres across the Kingdom. The
work of the VTC contributes substantially to the human resources needs for
knowledgeable and skilled men and women in the industrial, business and service
sectors — a primary asset in attracting investments in the Kingdom.
Last year, King Abdullah witnessed the swearing in of the reshuffled Cabinet of
Prime Minister Fayez. Among the highlights of that reshuffle was the formation
of a super-ministry charged with the performance of the government and advancing
public reforms.
King Abdullah last week gave added impetus to this goal by announcing a new plan
for decentralisation and increased public representation at the local level
through elected councils.
Emphasising that political, social, economic and administrative development is
an integrated process, King Abdullah set a major goal for the coming year,
saying it is “essential to expand the base of public participation in that
process.”