His Majesty King Abdullah II affirmed that his meetings with leaders of the G-8 countries in Sea Island last week were productive, noting that they laid a foundation for a new partnership for progress, one that will support development, peace and stability in the Middle East.

The King's remarks came during a dinner banquet hosted by the Economic Club of Chicago and the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations that was attended by senior US figures in Chicago, representatives of companies willing to invest in Jordan and members of the Jordanian community in Chicago.

His Majesty stressed that Islam's core values are essential features of healthy, stable democracy everywhere. "The equal dignity of all people, respect for reason and law, tolerance, personal responsibility: these and other principles can drive, and are driving, a new era of progress in the Middle East," he added.

King Abdullah called for considering a new marshal Plan, one that would give the Middle East the tools it needs to resist the global enemies of tolerance and peace. "The plan is needed now more than ever, to give people hope and offer them an alternative to hate and division," he added.