His Majesty King Abdullah on Tuesday urged the Senate to play its role to push forward the process of development and modernisation through full partnership and integration with all state authorities.

The ultimate goal is to complete Jordan’s comprehensive reform programme, King Abdullah told senators over a lunch banquet held at the Royal Offices in Hummar.

Towards that end, and to aptly respond to the challenges facing the country, the King urged the two Houses of Parliament to work to complete laws that “meet the ambitions of citizens and enhance their confidence in state institutions”.

During the meeting, in which His Majesty went over issues of public concern, he reiterated that Parliament is the “incubator of democracy and national dialogue, and the place where pluralism and institutionalised action based on cooperation between all stakeholders take root”.

The road to reform is clear, the King told the senators, citing the Speech from the Throne, and “so are the priorities that have already been set”, noting that to translate these priorities into facts on the ground, the three branches of government should fully cooperate with each other so that citizens can taste their fruits.

Speaking on behalf of the Upper House, Senate President Abdur-Rau’f S. Rawabdeh said he and his colleagues will continue to do their job as part of the legislative branch to enroot democracy and achieve reform.

Also present at the meeting were Royal Court Chief Fayez Tarawneh, His Majesty’s Office Director Imad Fakhoury, King’s Adviser for Tribal Affairs Sharif Fawaz Zaben and senior officials.