His Majesty King Abdullah on Wednesday met with main representatives of civil society organisations (CSOs) on the US West Coast during his visit to Los Angeles in California.

Discussions covered the latest regional and international developments, where King Abdullah underlined Jordan's commitment to continued coordination with all stakeholders, and effective international powers to address the Middle East issues in order to bring stability and security to the region.

His Majesty also highlighted the Kingdom's stance towards the Syrian crisis, warning against the fallout of a prolonged conflict on the Syrian people, neighbouring countries and the entire region.

The King pointed to the growing economic burdens on Jordan, which host around 1.3 million Syrians, including 600,000 registered refugees, and the pressure this imposes on the society, infrastructure and services, especially in the northern governorates. 

His Majesty called on the international community and key regional donors to double their assistance to the Kingdom to enable it to continue providing adequate humanitarian assistance to the Syrian refugees.

Despite the huge pressure, the King noted that Jordan deals with the challenges with utmost efficiency in order to ensure local communities quality services.

His Majesty indicated that 41 per cent of the Kingdom's schools work double shifts to accommodate the growing number of Syrian students enrolled in state-run schools, who has reached 120,000. Thousands are still on the waiting list, he said.

Regarding efforts to bring about peace and resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the King reiterated the “centrality” of the Palestinian issue.

His Majesty called for supporting efforts geared towards coming up with a permanent and just solution that guarantees Palestinians their legitimate rights and meets their aspirations to establish their own independent state on their national soil according to the two-state solution.

At the national level, His Majesty highlighted Jordan’s steps towards comprehensive reform, which started with the constitutional amendments, enhancing the separation and balance between the branches of the government and creating essential constitutional oversight institutions, while enrooting a national integrity system.

The King noted that Jordan’s reforms are progressing “steadily”.

The regional challenges witnessed during the so-called “Arab Spring” have created a huge opportunity for Jordan to continue its reform process that touches all aspects of life in the country, said His Majesty.

The King underlined that the Kingdom plays an essential role in peace-making in the region and the world, and leads interfaith and cultural dialogue.

For their part, the West Coast CSOs representatives voiced their appreciation for His Majesty’s efforts in supporting regional peace and his wisdom in dealing with different regional challenges.

UNHCR Representative to Jordan Andrew Harper presented a briefing on the situation of Syrian refugees in the Kingdom and services provided by the government, calling for more urgent assistance to support Jordan.

Also on Wednesday, the King met with a number of leading US and international filmmakers and discussed ways the Jordanian market can benefit from their experience in the field.

His Majesty noted that the country has made a “distinguished” success in the area of film industry and cinematic production, especially in the last few years, due to the qualified human resources.

He invited the industry leaders to benefit from Jordan’s natural resources and significant tourism sites, such as Petra, Jerash, Wadi Rum and the Dead Sea, in filmmaking and production.

His Majesty underlined the Kingdom’s keenness to work in partnership with leading international filmmakers to ensure the success of their ventures.

The King’s meeting with the film-makers came in line with efforts exerted by the Royal Film Commission to develop the industry, which resulted in the production of around 150 films since 2003.