King Abdullah renews confidence in al-Rawabdeh's government

Jordan's King Abdullah II on Monday renewed his confidence in his prime minister, Abdul Raouf al-Rawabdeh, after the king attended a special session of the Jordanian Cabinet.

The meeting seemed to come as a result of a series of articles and press reports which said that the king is about to take a decision on a ministerial reshuffle.

The Jordanian news agency, Petra, quoted the king as saying, "We should pay attention to what has been said for creating illusions about the performance of the government, because we have several aims and objectives that we have to complete."

Al-Rawabdeh's government, which was formed in March, is the first Jordanian government under the reign of King Abdullah.

Meanwhile, the Jordanian king has given his directives to the government to establish a consultative economic council working under the personal supervision of the king, and taking part in its meetings are the prime minister and the ministers concerned.

In a message he addressed to al-Rawabdeh, King Abdullah said that the task of the council will be follow up on economic policies and the development plans in Jordan with the assertion of the role played by the private sector in this regard.