Jordan king calls to activate joint arab action

His Majesty King Abdullah II has called to activate the joint Arab action in order to face the “exceptional and unprecedented” challenges facing the Arab and Muslim nations.In an interview with Qatari Al Sharq Arabic daily, the King voiced hope for the coming Arab Summit, slated to be held in Doha, to constitute a positive turning point to develop mechanisms for a serious and real Arab action to face those challenges.His Majesty noted the depth of ties between Jordan and Qatar, voicing Jordan’s readiness to further develop and cement the partnership and cooperation with the Gulf Arab state in various domains, serving the two countries and peoples’ interests.He also talked about reforms in Jordan, saying “the reform process is limitless, despite the challenges and hard conditions we are living”. The ultimate goal of reform, the King said, is to enhance democracy and grassroots participation in the decision-making process.On Syria, the King called for a peaceful and political transitional process to maintain the unity and sovereignty of Syria and its people so as to “stop it from sliding into abyss”. The Syrian crisis, he said, had its repercussions on Jordan and other neighboring countries, noting the huge number of refugees who cross into Jordan on a daily basis. Around half a million refugees are now in the Kingdom, and that figure could double before year’s end, the King added.Responding to a question on peace efforts, the King said that solving the Arab-Israeli conflict is the key to solving other problems facing the Middle East. Otherwise, he added, the region will continue to be vulnerable to tension and instability “dragging us into a dark tunnel”. Failure to solve the conflict would also lead to an arms race on the expense of development, he added.Lack of justice, a frozen peace process and lost of hope are the major drivers for tension and violence in the Middle East, the King said.