His Majesty King Abdullah II said that we, in Jordan, have been embarking on economic and social reform which is vital if we are to set a new standard in the Middle East.

The King said that it is imperative that we talk about a viable independent state, pointing out that it is our responsibility as Jordanians and in the international community to make it appear.

During a reception in the presence of Her Majesty Queen Rania Al-Abdullah held by the Jordanian Diplomatic Club (JDC), His Majesty pointed out that many of the foreign embassies know that when we meet your leadership, 95 per cent of the time is spent talking about the Palestinian issue.

His Majesty said that it is time now for us to be courageous and be able to push the Jordanian citizen and his concerns to the forefront, and as a result there is going to be a new way of business that the government is going to have to achieve.

He pointed out that the letter, which he recently addressed to the Prime Minister, is not about changing this minister or that minister. The changes are talking about a systematic change of how we do business guaranteed to bring growth and prosperity to the Jordanian citizen. And it is a system that people would have to understand and my hope that over the next couple weeks that will become clearer to all of us.

His Majesty said that it is not a time to be timid. It is not a time to use excuses of what is happening in the world to slow down if anything we have to forge ahead even