The following is a speech given by His Majesty King Abdullah II on Jordanian Television on the 26 January 2005.

In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful Blessings and Peace Be Upon our Arab Hashemite Prophet Mohammed, Dear Brothers and Sisters, peace upon you, God´s mercy and blessings, It is my great pleasure to address you today, conveying my pride in you and appreciation of your efforts in all your locations and in every part of our dear Jordan.

I address you today while you are proceeding with the process of construction and development, recording remarkable accomplishments that are worthy of your strong will and determination to continue the building of modern Jordan, the Jordan that provides its men and women with opportunities to lead, in a climate of freedom and democracy, a decent life in which each one of you is empowered to take part in making the decisions that affect his/her life and the future of his/her children, and open doors to contribute to the process of comprehensive development and to reap its fruits on the basis of justice, equality and equal opportunities.

I sought to speak to you today to present you with my vision for the process of political, economic, social and administrative reform that we embarked upon five years ago, and which constitutes our path towards the aspired-for development.

Based on that, I believe that political, economic, social and administrative development is an integrated process and that we should not deal with its elements as independent and separate units. I also deem it essential to expand the base of public participation in this process, which needs the support and efforts of each and every citizen.

As political development is the gateway to the full participation of all segments of the grassroots and civil society institutions in the various aspects of the development process, I assert here that political development should start at the grassroots level, then move up to decision-making centers, and not vice-versa.

Accordingly, and in order to enhance our democratic march, and to continue the process of political, economic, social and administrative reform, and out of our keenness to have people in their respective governorates participate in affairs related to public facilities, investment priorities, expenditure on capital and services projects and in overseeing the performance of official bodies in all areas, we have deemed it necessary to reconsider the current administrative divisions of the Kingdom. We shall have a number of "development areas, or regions," each of which consisting of a number of governorates. Each region will have a local council directly elected by its people to work hand in hand with the elected municipal councils in the governorates to set priorities and draw up plan and programs related to their respective region.

These tasks should no longer be exclusive to central decision makers because the people of each region are more aware of their interests and needs. We shall as soon as possible form a Royal Committee to study the various aspects of such an approach and to put the appropriate mechanisms for its implementation and translation from an idea to tangible facts on the ground.

Dear brothers and sisters,

I seize this occasion to congratulate on your behalf, our brotherly Palestinians for their great achievement in conduction of the presidential election and choosing their legitimate leadership, such an achievement is a key and essential step for the Palestinians in their pursuit to regain their rights and establish their independent state on their national soil. We shall, as ever, be their strongest supporter so that [they] realize their legitimate national aspirations.

I also seize this occasion to address all our brethren in Iraq, of all groups and spectrums, and call on them to take part in the elections to be held in a few days. The elections are the only realistic way for Iraqis to achieve security and stability, rebuild their country, and ensure that Iraq regains its natural and special status within the region.

Once again, dear brothers and sisters, I salute you all and express my pride in you. I ask the Almighty God to protect and bless you and to guide all of us towards the welfare of our people King´s address to the nation and nation.

Peace and God´s mercy and blessings be upon you. (© 1995-2005, The Jerusalem Post 01/27/05)