Date: 16 June, 2005
Title: Letter of His Majesty King Abdullah II to Prime Minister H.E. Dr. Adnan Badran

In the name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

His Excellency Brother Adnan Badran, may God protect him,

Greetings,

Amidst noble national achievement, and through your shouldering executive responsibility, and your thrust forward to perform national obligations, we would like to affirm our support for you to achieve what we look forward to, for the good of our dear Jordan, at present and in the future.

What characterizes human nature is that it has ambitions, seeks what is better, competes, expresses itself and mobilizes all related evidence and means of argument for the sake of interests and principles. We have always stood, and will always stand, totally convinced, with opinions that do not exclude other opinions, and with dialogue and freedom of expression. But we always affirm that all interests, as many and as varied they are, should retreat when faced by the interests of the homeland; homeland interests should top every other interests. This is one of the basic constant pillars of our vision, our performance and our approach, with Jordan's interests always standing for us as being the ultimate goal.

Our decision to adopt reform as an approach and our insistence an accelerating it, is an action of choice and will; it emanates from our vision of our national interests. Whereas international powers pressure other countries to adopt reform and carry on with it, we were in Jordan- and will continue to be- the pioneers of voluntary reform which emanated from the head of the state downwards to different levels, and which will continue until it realizes all its advantages for the homeland's interests and for the welfare of all Jordanians without exceptions.

We are fully convinced that reform requires sacrifices at the beginning, but it constitutes a guarantee for the future of our sons and daughters, and for the prosperity of our future generations; thus we are not surprised to see some people fighting the principles of reform and seeking to keep things as they are, since every call for positive change that requires sacrifices will face people who resist it; perhaps what supports the position of people who resist positive change is that the advantages and benefits of change are not in kind in the early stages of building, as apposed to their abundant fruits in the near future.

So we noticed, and continue to monitor, the focused attacks on reform and its backers. We would not have objected if criticism and rejection were built on knowledge and objectivity. But the truth is evident, because the principles of reform were by-passed, and what we witnessed was that those individuals who adopted reform came under an unobjective attack; it is a pity that those who critisize and attack this national programme deviated from reform principles, and succeeded in personalizing its proponents, although reform is a set of principles and not inviduals; the painful reality is that they succeeded in individualizing and personalizing reform.

On this basis, and building on the essence of reform principles, we accepted the principle of sacrifice, and so the resignation of His Excellency Brother Dr. Bassem Awadallah from government was among the core components of these sacrifices. But what was established for us, and what is clear beyond doubt, is that reform is our national programme that will not be abandoned or retracted. It represents our will and our choice for the benefit of the homeland; it is an approach, through long-term, that constitutes the final destination for our dear beloved Jordan.

We wish Dr. Awadallah continued success; Dr. Awadallah gave Jordan a lot of energy and devotion, and will continue in his distinguished spirit of giving in every position he holds; this is not new for him; every time his homeland calls he responds, and I am sure that he will respond to the call if there are any new developments that require his return to the field of sincere work and giving.

Reform is worthy of sacrifices; it is a continuing programme until it realizes all the advantages, as much as it is a responsibility we shoulder for the benefit of our future generations, and for their promising tomorrow; so we have to achieve and succeed.

We are sure that you will not spare any effort or refrain from any sacrifice that would enhance, and firmly establish, this perspective and emphasize its continuation. We are also convinced that your keenness and care for realizing our vision for Jordan's future requires taking the necessary measures to select whom you see as capable and efficient to translate visions into tangible reality whose good returns will benefit our homeland and citizens.

Jordan will always be first and will always deserve what is best.

Abdullah II Bin al-Hussein

Amman, 9 Jumadal-Ula 1426 Hijri
16 June 2005 A.D.