Lower House holds consultative meeting with government

AMMAN — The Lower House on Wednesday held a consultative meeting with the government headed by Speaker Abdulkarim Dughmi in the presence of Prime Minister Bisher Al Khasawneh and Cabinet members. 

The meeting addressed several national issues in the political, economic, social and service fields, where MPs reviewed several public issues and demands, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Lawmakers and the government agreed to continue these meetings, mainly with relevant ministers to discuss national issues and listen to public demands in a bid to reach solutions to them.

Dughmi stressed that the current extraordinary session does not allow for holding oversight sessions as per the Constitution.

He noted that lawmakers reviewed several issues that concern the public, adding that the government stressed its keenness to follow up on the demands. 

Khasawneh stressed the government's commitment to maintain cooperation and coordination with the Lower House in a way that serves the interests of the homeland and citizens.

Replying to MPs' inquiries, the prime minister said that the decision by the Jordan Food and Drug Administration to bring medicines by passengers was averted and previous procedures came back into force without any change. 

As for plans to explore oil and some minerals in the Kingdom, he said that the government is going on with its national programme to explore oil and minerals and is waiting for the results of relevant studies. 

Regarding complaints about drinking water shortage in some governorates, Khasawneh stressed that the Water Ministry is exerting efforts to overcome this problem, noting that the Kingdom suffered from a deficit of some 10 million cubic metres of water for this summer. 

Following the meeting, Minister of State for Media Affair Faisal Shboul said that the event witnessed discussions about the financial situation of the country, stressing that the government's recent procedures, such as matching the local prices of fuel derivatives with the global process aimed at avoiding reaching "difficult economic circumstances".