His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday stressed the importance of institutionalising the conduct of parliamentary blocs to enhance the performance of the Lower House.

During a meeting with members of the House’s Mubadara bloc, King Abdullah stressed the need for each parliamentary coalition to work on the basis of well-defined platforms to deal with legislative and national issues.

At the meeting, held as part of a series of discussions with Lower House blocs and members, His Majesty expressed optimism about the success of parliamentary blocs.

The King also stressed the importance of drafting a code of conduct to regulate lawmakers’ performance and resolve all problems hindering the legislature’s conduct, especially the frequent lack of quorum which is delaying the endorsement of key laws.

Highlighting the urgency of the reform process, His Majesty stressed the importance of reform-oriented legislation, including the municipalities, decentralisation and political parties laws, which are centred on enhancing political life in the Kingdom as well as public participation in decision making.

The King also highlighted the resilience Jordan has shown in the face of regional challenges, stressing the importance of moving ahead with the reform process according to the set priorities.

His Majesty noted that improving the living conditions of citizens and alleviating their economic burdens has to be a major priority for the government and the Lower House, calling for more efforts to promote economic opportunities in the Kingdom and its investment climate, especially with Jordan hosting the World Economic Forum meeting in May.

Commenting on the latest regional and international developments, the King also noted that Jordan is always stressing the importance of achieving peace and security in the region in its constant communication and coordination with all concerned Arab and international parties.

His Majesty described Jordan’s borders with war-hit Iraq and Syria as “safe and secure”, expressing full confidence in the abilities of the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army and other security bodies to safeguard the Kingdom’s security and stability.

The King also said that Jordan’s participation in the Arab military coalition in Yemen came in response to an official Yemeni request to protect its constitutional legitimacy, underlining the irreversibility of a political solution to the Yemeni crisis.

His Majesty voiced the Kingdom’s full support for the Iraqi government’s war against radicalism and terrorist groups to enhance security and safeguard the country’s territorial unity.

The King also called for a comprehensive political solution to the Syrian war that can end the suffering of Syrians and preserve the unity of their country.

His Majesty reiterated the centrality of the Palestinian cause, describing the two-state solution as an irreversible formula to end the decades-old conflict.

For their part, the 15 members of the Mubadara bloc thanked the King for the meeting, presenting briefings on their coalition’s stances towards the various local, regional and international issues, the statement said.

They also expressed their intention to develop the bloc into a political current to be able to play a larger effective role in handling national causes.

Discussing economic challenges, lawmakers stressed the need for more government attention to the development of governorates, calling on the concerned agencies to explain the decentralisation project to citizens.

They also called for a comprehensive strategy to combat terrorism.

The MPs expressed appreciation for His Majesty’s leading role in defending Arab and Islamic causes and his comprehensive vision to face terrorism and radicalism.