His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday commended the achievements of the We are All Jordan Commission's six subcommittees, describing it as an incubator for ideas and perspectives needed to face domestic and foreign challenges.

During a meeting at Bayt Al Urdun with commission members, King Abdullah said the commission has been able to arrive at several good results, building on the priorities set during the We are All Jordan forum held last year.

The forum, which brought together 700 experts, incumbent and former officials and lawmakers, was held last July to set the country's top priorities within the context of a national consensus over issues Jordan should address in order to meet domestic, regional and international challenges.

Following the forum's meetings, King Abdullah directed the government to establish the We are All Jordan Commission to follow up on recommendations set by the forum, stressing that it would serve as a Royal advisory body, without transgressing the authority of any constitutional institution.

Members include the prime minister, the Senate president, former prime ministers, the Lower House speaker, former ministers and representatives of the private sector, the media and women's organizations, in addition to the secretary general of the National Policies Council as rapporteur. The King tasked the 27-member panel to form subcommittees to set up work mechanisms and draft regular reports on progress made.

The six major topics evoked by the forum participants included the Palestine issue, political reform, external challenges, domestic development, economic reform and social security.

“I have been following up the committees' activities and reviewing reports… and I would like to thank you for your efforts over the past period,” the King said during the meeting.

The Jordan Times