His Majesty King Abdullah on Wednesday stressed that comprehensive reform and modernisation are his personal agenda.
“We are moving ahead with the reform endeavour to build upon achievements, bring about development and realise Jordanians' aspirations for a better future," King Abdullah said during a meeting with representatives of the professional associations.
The King called on attendees to support all forms of constructive dialogue and to oppose activities that threaten the country's national unity.
"We want all to participate in a modernisation process that serves Jordanians' future and their ambitions," he said, emphasising that "no one will hold back the people's will to continue this rewarding endeavour".
During his second meeting in less than two months with the president and members of the Professional Associations Council, King Abdullah said: "You have a greater responsibility to support the comprehensive political, economic and social reform process, which should ensure a wider participation of citizens in the decision-making process and building the Kingdom's future."
The King also underlined the state's seriousness in moving ahead with the political and economic reforms. "As I stressed previously, we have a golden opportunity to improve Jordan, and there is nothing we fear."
He also again denounced a security clampdown on protesters on Friday, pointing out the incident "does not represent Jordanians' morals and manners", calling for "leaving the event behind and opening a new chapter".
In addition, King Abdullah said time should not be wasted in the drafting of new elections and political parties laws or in the amendment of related legislation.
The King said that dialogue, consultation and concord are the keys to addressing national challenges and arriving at strategies to best serve the country.
The leaders of the 14 professional unions stressed their commitment to the country's national constants and their keenness to support the nationwide dialogue on reform, and said that last Friday's incident should be put to rest and that citizens should unite to advance reforms and preserve Jordan's image.
Professional Associations Council President Abdul Hadi Falahat stressed that the state's political system, security, stability and sovereignty are top priorities as far as the associations are concerned. The King, he said, is the only guarantee of the Kingdom's national unity and its social cohesion.
“We may agree or disagree with other institutions on any issue other than the need to preserve the country's security and unity,” he said, adding that “the difference is over policies.” The unionists emphasised that freedom of expression should be manifested in a peaceful and civilised manner without trespassing on other people's rights, and concurred that peaceful expression of opinions is a “collective responsibility” that will lead automatically to dialogue.
They explained that state media outlets should work to calm social unrest, not provoke tension among citizens.
In addition, they expressed appreciation for the King's treatment of people on equal footing regardless of their origins and ethnicities, indicating that “the King and the people are reading from the same page”.
They also said that certain parties are “intentionally or unintentionally” inducing social tension, and said that the concepts of reform and power had been confused.
Associations representatives also stressed that the National Dialogue Committee should complete its mission as soon as possible as scheduled and should produce a clear vision and recommendations on reform, with the government committing to those recommendations.
They also stressed the importance of combating corruption to boost the state's prestige and protect the gains through a concise and well-defined reform programme that can lead to tangible outcomes and enhance citizens' trust in state's institutions.
They said that the powers and obstacles hindering the reform and modernisation process need to be dealt with through dialogue with all segments of society, especially youth.
Also attending the meeting were Royal Court Chief Khalid Karaki and the King's Media Adviser Amjad Adaileh.