Jordan's King Hussein attends Cabinet meeting
Jordan, Politics, 4/15/1998

King Hussein of Jordan attended a Cabinet meeting yesterday. The meeting included an extensive discussion of plans and projects implemented by Jordan's government.

Following the meeting, the king expressed his satisfaction with the government's performance. The king stressed the need to proceed with administration of development programs in order to achieve productivity.

He was updated on the steps implemented so far within the framework of the social productivity network aimed at alleviating poverty and unemployment.The first phase of the project is to be financed by a sum totaling JD178 million.(about $250 million).

King Hussein also touched on efforts to protect investment and address agricultural concerns. "We covered a very large area of activities of all different ministries," the King told the press following the Cabinet meeting.

Regarding the privatization plan in Aqaba, the king was quoted as saying that it would be the subject of a meeting to be held tomorrow. "We really hope that that meeting will be the turning point in the history of Aqaba," he said.

Answering a question about his evaluation of the security system in Jordan in light of a recent triple murder in Amman, the King said, "As far as the internal scene is concerned, what happened was very very regrettable. We are extremely shocked by what happened, and we hope that we will get to the bottom as soon as possible." During the last few months, Jordan has witnessed a number of mass killings the last of which was the murdering of three prominent Jordanians in Amman last week, a crime that shocked the nation.

"Such crimes are unusual in Jordan," the King said, "They may be part of life in other countries, but certainly to us, this is extremely alarming and shocking."

King Hussein might have hinted at outside involvement in his last words. "We hope we will get to the bottom of it," he stated. "We will try to see exactly what the causes and the reasons for the crimes are," he told reporters. "Jordan has been open to so many people from within the area who have come here. We began in 1990 with the problem in the Gulf," the king said.

Concerning the Middle East peace process Jordan's King Hussein told the reporters that he believed things were moving in the right direction despite the hinderances in the way.

Previous Stories:
  King Hussein calls for peace   (4/14/1998)
  Jordanians - Palestinians review peace efforts   (4/6/1998)
  Jordan's King talks to Egyptian President   (3/31/1998)

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