Elucidating Jordan’s stand

His Majesty King Abdullah took part in the 10th annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative, sharing with the select audience Jordan’s vision for the future and shedding light on the reasons the country was able to withstand all the shocks and tribulations of the Middle East ever since its creation.

It is not by sheer accident that Jordan withstood and overcame the many shocks and challenges of the region, said the King.

Rather, Jordan’s successes are due to its ability to turn challenges into opportunities.

Despite the gloomy picture in the Middle East, “the good news and the big challenge at the same time is that 60 per cent of the population is under 30”, said the King.

While for other countries this could be a burden, “for a country like Jordan, this is a positive thing, having a young population that is highly educated, tech savvy and resilient”, said the Monarch, stressing that the Kingdom has invested in the youth and, in many ways, put faith and trust in them to steer the country to a brighter future.

The many challenges Jordan has faced in the course of the years have strengthened its capabilities and resilience, enabling it to overcome challenges and develop a powerful system to deal with all threats.

One more recent problem is the massive influx of refugees from Syria. 

In keeping with its tradition of hospitality and of granting safe haven to people fleeing their countries in turmoil, Jordan welcomed them and offered them protection, “the right thing to do”, yet one that stretches the country’s resources to the breaking point.

The King presented his views on several other issues dominating the scene in the Middle East, stressing the need to urgently end the conflicts in Syria, Iraq and the Israeli-Palestinian decades-old problem, giving the audience a better sense of what really happens in the region.

Infusing an even stronger sense of urgency is the issue of extremism and radicalism pervading the Middle East, a rot that cannot be allowed to fester and become a worse threat than it is.

The US-led coalition to fight the Islamic State is doing just that and Jordan, always at the forefront of the fight against terrorism — from which it was not spared in the course of its history — is one of the sage nations which decided that watching events unfold without acting is detrimental to itself, the region and humanity in general.