Jordan Times
Sunday, May 28, 2006
New book documents
King’s development projects
By Mahmoud Al Abed
AMMAN — “I Believe in my People” is the title of
a new book by Al Rai reporter Ghaith Tarawneh on the vision and achievements of
His Majesty King Abdullah, with a special emphasis on development initiatives.
The writer, who has been covering the Monarch’s activities for the past five
years, told The Jordan Times that the book is intended as a reference on the
King’s initiatives since his ascension to the Throne seven years ago.
“I have done my best in this book to shed light on these initiatives so it can
be a reference for politicians, economists, observers and all Jordanians and
Arabs who seek to benefit from the King’s ideas,” the author wrote in his
preface.
The book, published by the Al Rai Studies Centre, consists of seven chapters,
with the first covering King Abdullah’s economic vision, including initiatives
that have helped transform the country into a global economy.
Jordan joined the World Trade Organisation in April 2000 and has since signed
several Free Trade Agreements. The most prominent of these are the FTA with the
US and the Association Agreement with the European Union.
The opening chapter also details programmes and initiatives such as
privatisation, the Socio-Economic Transformation Plan, economic forums,
including the World Economic Forum at the Dead Sea, King Abdullah Design and
Development Bureau, King Abdullah II Development Fund, Aqaba Special Economic
Zone and the Socio-Economic Plan for 2004-2006.
The book also delves into the King’s political development plans, such as Jordan
First, the National Agenda and the campaign launched by the Monarch to present
traditional Islam to the world, starting with the Amman Message in November
2004.
The remaining chapters deal with e-government, educational development, the
media and human rights, development of the judiciary and poverty alleviation
programmes in underprivileged areas.
Al Rai Chief Editor Abdul Wahab Zgheilat, who wrote the introduction, praises
the book as a major contribution to documenting a very important era in the
history of the country.
“Al Rai is always willing to contribute to projects that focus on the efforts of
King Abdullah to change the face of Jordan and put the country on the right
track for the future,” said Zgheilat.
The author also received support from the Royal Court’s Media and Information
Division, which coordinated with all the concerned agencies to supply the writer
with the required information.
The next step is to have the book translated into English, Tarawneh told The
Jordan Times.
In his first book, “Paths of Benevolence,” published in 2005, Tarawneh detailed
his personal accounts of King Abdullah’s humanitarian activities to alleviate
the suffering of the underprivileged.
He then described his book as “not merely a collection of descriptive reports of
the King’s visits to underprivileged areas, but rather a document that aims to
shed light on the lives of the poor, including the conditions of bedouins
surviving in arid lands, peasants in forgotten villages and those living in
refugee camps.”