Interview with His Majesty King Abdullah II

AFP: In Your Majesty's talks with President Bush and senior US officials You have pointedly stressed the importance of combating terrorism and not attacking an Arab country, in particular Iraq. Do you still feel confident about that as concern is rising in the Arab world?

King Abdullah: First of all, let me stress that the heinous crime that was committed in the United States was a crime against all of us; it was a crime against humanity, an act of terror that all religions and human values condemn. International terrorism is a threat to all of us and we must work together on combating it. We will work with the United States and the rest of the international community to fight this evil. This fight is going to be long term and multidimensional, with military, intelligence, political and financial aspects.

The fight against international terrorism is not a fight between East and West. It is a fight against a common threat, it is a fight for the right of all peoples, wherever they are, to live in peace and security. From day one, we warned against holding Arabs and Islam responsible for the acts of a few unrepresentative extremists, who have nothing to do with our faith and its teachings. Islam is about peace, about respecting human life. The majority of Arabs and Muslims condemn these acts and let me stress here that we, in Jordan, have lost more Jordanian diplomats to acts of terror than any other country in the region. We have been fighting terrorism for decades and we will continue to do so in cooperation with the international community.

In this international effort, the enemy is international terrorism. It is the enemy of the West -- it is the enemy of Islam; it is the enemy of the Arabs -- it is the enemy of humanity. Actually, those terrorists pose a double threat to us as Arabs and Muslims: the threat of inflicting suffering on people and the threat of tarnishing the image of a great religion and civilisation. So yes, in no way should the Arabs be held responsible for these crimes. We have stressed that and we will go on doing so. Therefore, I strongly believe there should not be any military action against any Arab country.

AFP: But what if an Arab country is attacked?

King Abdullah: We have explained to the coalition the great catastrophe if an Arab country is hit. We need to continue to further promote dialogue and understanding between the coalition and our brethren Arab countries. We all need to realise that the world has changed after Sept. 11 and we hope that each country will come to terms with the new realities.

AFP: What can the Arabs do collectively to avoid being drawn into a conflict?

King Abdullah: I think all members of the international community are going to have to be involved in the effort of combating international terrorism. Sept. 11 ushered in a new era. International terrorism will not be tolerated and Arab countries, like countries across the world, are now engaged in a global struggle against terrorism, a struggle that will, as I said, be multidimensional and will be fought on different political, economic, military and intelligence fronts. We have to look to the future, to build a better ME, to give peace, hope and opportunity to the peoples of the ME.

AFP: The whole situation is taking the shape of a Christian-Muslim struggle, particularly after the attack on a church in Pakistan. What are the risks of such a thing happening

King Abdullah: I think we identified the risk at the beginning of the horrible tragedy of September - and we helped explain it to the West. We have been very pleased with the leadership of the West. They understand this is not a struggle between East and West. This is not a struggle between the West and Islam, and community leaders have been very strong in the Western world in trying to explain that to their people.

Our concern is that the Osama Bin Ladens of this world would like to make this a struggle between East and West, between the West and Islam, so that when we see attacks on mosques or attacks on churches it is really following what they want. And we have to be very careful as Muslims and Christians in the international community not to fall into that trap. We have to keep in mind that there are at least a couple of hundred Muslims that died in the twin towers attacks and Muslims have died at the hands of the Osama Bin Ladens all over the world.

So I think that it is the international community (East and West) coming together to fight international terrorism.

AFP: In recent public statements, Your Majesty repeatedly urged the US to play a more active role in securing an end to the Israeli-Palestinian violence. That message was well received in Washington as President Bush spoke clearly of a Palestinian state. However, the latest developments on the ground appear to have created a setback. How do you see the situation?

King Abdullah: I think because of Sept. 11 there is more urgency in the United States and the international community to find an equitable solution to the Palestinian problem. I believe it is clear to all that finding such a solution on the basis of UNSC Resolutions 242 and 338 and agreements reached between the parties is the most essential requirement for peace and stability in our region. Comprehensive, just and lasting peace is what we have worked for and what we will continue to work for because our region will not enjoy stability without it.

We are very happy with President Bush's clear support for the establishment of a Palestinian state ¿and we strongly believe the United States will play an extremely active role in trying to put the peace process back on track. We have been in active consultation with the United States before the Sept. 11 attack on how to revitalise the peace talks through an announcement by the United States of the end result of the negotiations. The international community, the US, the EU, Russia and Egypt have been working as a team to overcome the crisis facing the peace process and I am convinced that we will see an intensification of these efforts.

Everybody realises that we will have a Palestinian state on Palestinian national soil sooner or later. Our view is that we need to move quickly to achieve that because delaying this inevitably means continued conflict and tension. We continue to be optimistic that peace and stability can be restored.

AFP: Your Majesty has recently spoken of the existence of terrorist plots against yourself and the Jordanian people?

King Abdullah: As time goes by we will be able to release more information, and you'll be surprised what the Jordanian intelligence service has done in terms of preventing attacks on Americans, on Jordanians and inside Europe. I don't want to comment in detail on any ongoing investigations. But as I said, international terrorism is a threat to all of us. Its targets are moderation, peace and tolerance. These are values that we have upheld, so to answer your question on terrorist threats against me, I will just say that our fight against terrorism did not start with the current coalition -- it started long before it.

Jordan is part of the global effort to combat international terrorism in all other aspects, especially in intelligence where there is an international network of intelligence organisations that work together to combat terrorism and Jordan has been an integral part of that network.

AFP: Jordan is now one of the rare Arab countries not to have a ministry of information. Can you explain this move?

King Abdullah: The letter which I sent to the prime minister a few days ago is talking about massive economic and social reform programmes that will reach the citizens in 2002. If we really want to effect economic and social change, we have to start looking at other areas, obviously and the press and information is very important area. The issue is modernising the system.

We are trying to institute a modern systematic approach to development and that is why I believe such an approach necessitates the independence of the media and therefore the cancellation of the Ministry of Information. The media is a major tool for change and it needs to be free but responsible in carrying out its role. The Higher Council that we have called for will include professional journalists and media specialists as well as key opinion leaders…

AFP: Your Majesty, the Sept. 11 attacks in the US have had a severe backlash on the economies of the world. You yourself have been working relentlessly since your ascension to the Throne to develop Jordan's economy, which suffered from the Gulf war. How will a new conflict affect Jordan, what measures can be taken on the local and regional Arab scene to avoid recession?

King Abdullah: Improving the performance of our economy and the standards of living for our people have been a priority for us and will continue to be so. All economic indicators point that we have been moving in the right direction. We will always focus on working to minimise any negative impact on our economy. In fact, we have been navigating against all the odds: my government has registered, this year so far four per cent economic growth despite the Palestinian intifada and the 11-year-old sanctions against Iraq.

We have focused on investment, we have introduced legislative reform that would render our economic environment attractive to foreign capital and we have worked on creating conditions necessary for the development of sectors that we have identified as engines of growth – these include IT, tourism and the private sector -- we are now members in pan-Arab free trade agreements, the WTO and FTA. We have also established partnership with the EU. We are in the process of transforming our sole maritime outlet on the Red Sea into the Aqaba Special Economic Zone. It is only a matter of time, a short time I hope, before we see these changes filter down to the people.

Just this weekend I have asked my government to chart an integrated socio-economic plan to improve the quality of life of Jordanians, mainly to curb unemployment and contain poverty - my primary top priority. Attracting investment is key and investment priorities should be directed towards developing human resources, basic public services, upgrading governorates, and expediting financial, administrative and judicial structural reforms.

Indeed, the 11 September attack will have its impact on the world economy, especially in tourism and foreign investment sectors. As for us in Jordan we will not yield and will keep our hard work in all economic fields to maintain our economic achievements and build on them.