Jordan Times
Sunday, September 18, 2005
King outlines Jordan's
position at launch of Clinton Global Initiative
NEW YORK (Petra) — Their Majesties King Abdullah and Queen Rania were among 800
world leaders and key global personalities that attended the launch of the
Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) late Thursday.
The initiative, initiated by former US president Bill Clinton, is designed to
tackle poverty in some of the world's poorest countries and address global
problems such as religious strife, governance and climate change.
In remarks at the opening session, King Abdullah agreed with Clinton on the need
to launch an initiative to support Gaza in the aftermath of the Israeli
withdrawal.
The Monarch highlighted the Kingdom's efforts to help the Palestinians in the
fields of educational and administrative reforms.
King Abdullah urged the world to support Palestinian businessmen, who, he said,
have a key role to play in boosting Gaza's economic recovery.
In response to a comment by Clinton, the King said Jordan has benefited from the
Free Trade Agreement (FTA) signed with the US in 2001, with exports to the US
totalling $1 billion last year.
The King said the FTA has created many job opportunities, especially for women,
adding that if the region enters into a similar deal with Washington, it would
help create part of the 100 million jobs Arab countries need during the coming
decades.
The Monarch also spoke about the challenges posed by the lack of natural
resources in Jordan and the effect of the soaring oil prices, saying that the
Kingdom is working to find cheaper alternatives to fuel derivatives.
During his speech, the King took the opportunity to explain Jordan's efforts to
promote the true concept of Islam, which, he said, had been tarnished by
terrorism and extremism.
The King referred to the July Islamic conference and last year's Amman Message,
in which Jordan spelt out the true nature of Islam as a faith of tolerance,
compassion and understanding.
King Abdullah discussed the same issue on Thursday with religious leaders from
Riverside Church in New York.
Urging interfaith understanding, the Monarch called for a
Muslim-Christian-Judaist dialogue based on mutual respect and shared values,
respect of human rights and efforts to achieve social justice.