His Majesty King Abdullah II emphasized that presenting the concept of "Jordan First" is to enhance Jordan's invincibility which in turn supports the invincibility of our Arab nation. "This motto is a concept to deepen Jordanians' commitment to their society and to stimulate their sense of loyalty to their country," the King said in an interview with Al Sharq Al Awsat Newspaper.



His Majesty added that "we are nationalists by birth and we don not express our nationalism through slogans and noise. "The concept of "Jordan First" succeeded in achieving its goals, the parliamentary elections were successful with a participation which reached 58 percent, one of the highest international rates," he added.



The King went on to say "this success was also clear through the solidarity of Jordanians which appeared during the critical era that followed Iraq's occupation".



"This motto, the King said, also addresses the youth to ensure their continuous commitment to their homeland.



On the reform process with regards to decision making, the King said that although we have achieved a lot, the aspirations of our people are limitless, especially those aspirations of the youth who constitute 70 percent of the population.



"This forces us to face up to these challenges in order to reach their aspirations and fulfill their dreams and hopes," he said, affirming that this reform has started long before the Americans called for it.



"Even when the US presented it initiative for reform in the Middle East, we said that this reform is necessary to achieve the future aspired by the Arab youth. However, he said that reform we want is the reform which comes from within, and we announced then that the reform plans suggested by the West might not be successful.



His Majesty affirmed that the critical Palestinian issue does not only threaten Jordan's stability, but also the stability of the whole region. "We are deeply concerned about the transformation of Palestinian lands to cantons where it will become difficult to live, and we as being the closest to Palestine and with the deep rooted brotherly relations, are the most affected by the continuing suffering of the Palestinians and the feelings of frustrations and loss of hope.



On the outcome of his visit to Washington, the King said " We were able to clarify the Arab stand on the peace process and the Arab-Israeli conflict, especially after many doubts and question marks rose towards the American stand after the letter of the US President George Bush to the Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.



His Majesty said that we succeed in having an American position that affirms that the solution to the Palestinian issue depends on the implementation of the UN Security Council's resolutions related to the Arab-Israeli conflict, and on obtaining clear commitments that the final status issues concern the Palestinians and Israelis and that no one has the right to decide the form of solution.



"The US is still committed to the establishment of an independent Palestinians state within the 1967 borders in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions 338 and 242," the King added.



His Majesty said that "we are currently working with the Arab countries to present the Arab peace initiative again, indicating that this initiative is one of the most important Arab initiatives and positions that reflect willingness of Arabs to achieve peace withy Israel. "The world should realize that all Arabs are keen to achieve peace," he said.



On security and stability in Iraq, His Majesty affirmed that security and stability of Iraq is part of Jordan's security and stability, and that the deterioration of the security situation in this country affects all Iraq's neighboring countries and not only Jordan. "Therefore, we affirm that rebuilding Iraqi is the responsibility of all and we as Arab, should contribute to transferring power and sovereignty to the Iraqis as soon as possible," the King noted.



King Abdullah said that the basic role for building the future of Iraq should be led by the United Nations.



On the coalition forces in Iraq, he said that their continued presence there at this stage concerns the Iraqis themselves who have the final world on their presence.



On the sanctions imposed recently by the US on Syria, King Abdullah said that these sanctions will not help the progress of our economy nor that of the region, indicating that when the economic sanctions were imposed on Iraq, Jordan's economy sustained huge losses over a decade.



The King expressed optimism over the upcoming Arab summit, noting that if the Arab nation fails once, it will succeed in other times. "Every one is aware that our nation is passing through a critical stage, and if we distance ourselves from the language of slogans, which only brought dilemmas and defeats to this nation, we will have put ourselves in the right track," he added.



His Majesty said that we are in need of realistic discourse, a discourse that specifies problems and put solutions for them, a one that enhances our gains and build on them. "We are a nation that has the potentials of unity and progress," he added.



The King Questioned the reason behind not being open at a time when the world is making progress in all fields. "Everyone shoulder the responsibility of reform, and we look forward to the participation of civil society institutions, governments, the private sector and youth along with Arab leaderships to ensure success," he added.