UNITED NATIONS - 21 September 2005  / www.MaximsNews.com/  

Bismillah ar-Rahman Ar-Rahim --

Your Excellencies:

Five years ago, the world’s leaders met here to declare a new vision, for a new age.  The Millennium Summit was a response to a global moral consensus:  our world can no longer deny the basics of life and peace to billions of people. 

Five years later, it is clear that we acted not a moment too soon.   

Humanity has seen the dangers of a global system that excludes people – especially youth – from opportunity and hope.  

Now, the people of the world are looking to us:  to bring our nations together; to act with urgency; and to achieve results.

I am honoured to report that Jordan is on track to achieve the majority of its Millennium Development targets. 

The challenges are real and there is much to be done.  But gains are being made in poverty reduction, health, education, gender equality, the environment, and more.  

This effort is only part of Jordan’s much larger national strategy – a comprehensive, inclusive approach to reform and development. 

Yet, we do not act in a vacuum.  

Our country, our region, and the world, are all affected by the prospects for peace.  One critical step is to ensure zero tolerance towards those who promote extremism.  

Jordan has worked with the international Muslim community to oppose extremist interpretations of Islam.  

Jordan wants true, moderate, traditional Islam to replace fundamentalist, radical and militant Islam, everywhere in the world, for every single Muslim.

In November of 2004 we issued the Amman Message, which sought to clarify the true nature of Islam – what it is, and what it is not.  

Then, last July, over 180 scholars met in Amman.  They represented 45 countries, and were supported by fatwas from 17 of the world's greatest Islamic scholars.  

Together, they achieved, for the first time in history, a unanimous consensus on a number of critical issues.

First, the declaration recognized the legitimacy and common principles of all eight of the traditional schools of Islamic religious law.  

Second, it defined the necessary qualifications and conditions for issuing fatwas.  This exposes the illegitimacy of the extremist fatwas justifying terrorism, which contravene the traditional schools of Islamic religious law and are in clear violation of Islam's core principles.  

Third, the declaration condemned the practice known as “takfir” (calling others apostates) – a practice that is used by extremists to justify violence against those who do not agree with them.

Even as we work for peace, development must go forward.  Important in this effort is millennium goal seven: international partnership. 

When developed nations commit to active, increased development support, they advance global progress for all.  

The world knows what is needed:  fair trade, increased direct assistance, and debt relief.  The recent G-8 agreement on debt relief for the poorest nations was a positive step.  

The European Union has put forward a calendar on increased assistance.  We need to continue and expand such efforts. 

This is particularly important with regard to the key group of lower-middle and middle-income countries.  Our countries have a major role in regional and global stability.  

Many of us have been forging ahead full steam with reforms, and are on the verge of reaching higher income levels.  That success can translate into real development gains, only if it is nourished and sustained.  

A group of determined leaders, mostly from middle-income countries, are discussing shared concerns –free and fair trade, targeted aid, and more. We have agreed to continue our discussions on ways to reach accord with the developed nations. 

This World Summit recognizes that our globe is one of shared dependence – and shared opportunity.  

We have a strategic and also a moral mission.  

It is now in our hands to prove to the world’s people, especially our youth, that our international institutions work – and that global justice is real. 

Thank you very much.

His Majesty King Abdullah II
King of The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

     His Majesty King Abdullah II bin Al Hussein is the 43rd generation direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him). He assumed his constitutional powers as Monarch of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan on February 7th, 1999, the day his father, the late King Hussein, passed away.

Born in Amman on January 30th, 1962, King Abdullah II is the eldest son of His Majesty the late King Hussein and Her Royal Highness Princess Muna Al Hussein. He began his primary education at the Islamic Educational College in Amman, and later attended St. Edmund's School in Surrey, England. For his secondary education, he attended Eaglebrook School and Deerfield Academy in the United States of America.

King Abdullah II joined the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in the United Kingdom in 1980, and was commissioned as Second Lieutenant in 1981. He was later appointed Reconnaissance Troop Leader in the 13th/18th Battalion of the Royal Hussars (British Army) in (West) Germany and England. 

In 1982, King Abdullah II attended Oxford University where he completed a one-year Special Studies course in Middle Eastern Affairs. Upon returning home, King Abdullah II joined the Jordanian Armed Forces and served as Platoon Commander and Company Second-in-Command in the 40th Armored Brigade. 

In 1985, he attended the Armored Officers Advanced Course at Fort Knox, Kentucky, USA. A year later, he became Commander of a Tank Company in the 91st Armored Brigade of the Jordanian Armed Forces holding the rank of Captain. He also served with the Royal Jordanian Airforce Anti-Tank Wing where he received his wings as well as his qualifications as a Cobra Attack Pilot.

In 1987, King Abdullah II attended the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. as a Mid-Career Fellow. He completed an Advanced Study and Research program in International Affairs, part of the ‘Master of Science in Foreign Service' program.

King Abdullah II, thereafter, resumed his military career where he held various positions, among them Commander of the Royal Jordanian Special Forces and Special Operations Commander. From January 1989 until October 1989 King Abdullah II was the 2nd Company Commander in the 17th Tank Battalion, and from October 1989 until January 1991 he was 2nd in Command of the 17th Tank Battalion, during which time, in 1990, he attended the Royal Staff College in Camberley in the United Kingdom. 

He was then promoted to the rank of Major. From January 1991 until January 1992 he was Armored Corps Representative in the Office of the Inspector General of the Jordanian Armed Forces.

King Abdullah became Battalion Commander of the Second Armored Cavalry Regiment in January 1992. In 1993, he was in the 40th Brigade with the rank of Colonel, and was made Deputy Commander of the Jordanian Special Forces.

In 1994, he was made Commander of Special Forces with the rank of Brigadier and in 1996 he reorganized the Special Forces and other Elite Units into the Special Operations Command. King Abdullah was promoted to Major-General in 1998, and in June / July of the same year attended a defense resources management course in Monterrey Naval Post Graduate School.

In addition to his career as an army officer, King Abdullah II served Jordan many times in the official capacity of Regent in the absence of the late King Hussein, and regularly traveled on official missions. 

He was proclaimed Crown Prince on the 24th of January 1999 by a Royal Decree. He had also assumed the position of Crown Prince at birth by a Royal Decree until April 1st, 1965.

Since his ascension to the throne, King Abdullah II has continued his late father's commitment to creating a strong and positive moderating role for Jordan within the Arab region and the world, and has worked towards the establishment of a just and lasting comprehensive solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict. 

King Abdullah II is committed to building on the late King's legacy to further institutionalize democratic and political pluralism in Jordan. He has exerted extensive effort to insuring sustainable levels of economic growth and social development aimed at improving the standard of living of all Jordanians. He is also working towards modernizing Jordan's information technology and educational systems.

Under King Abdullah's reign, Jordan was admitted to the World Trade Organization, and ratified agreements for the establishment of a Free Trade Area with the United States of America, the European Union, the European Free Trade Association countries, and sixteen Arab countries. 

King Abdullah II has also been involved in the drive for national administrative reform, as well as governmental transparency and accountability. 

He has been working on the advancement of civil liberties making Jordan one of the most progressive countries in the Middle East. Also, he has been involved in enacting the necessary legislations that guarantee women a full role in the Kingdom's socio-economic and political life.

King Abdullah II married Queen Rania on June 10th, 1993. The Royal Couple have two sons, Prince Hussein, born on June 28th, 1994, and two daughters, Princess Iman, born on September 27th, 1996, Princess Salma, born on September 26th, 2000, and Prince Hashem, born on January 30th 2005. The King has four brothers and six sisters.

King Abdullah II holds a number of decorations from various countries. He is a qualified frogman, pilot and a free-fall parachutist. His other interests include automobile racing, water sports, scuba diving and collecting ancient weapons and armaments.  

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