Royal Court chief follows up with Aqaba representatives

AMMAN — In implementation of Royal directives, Royal Court Chief Yousef Issawi at the Royal Court on Thursday held a meeting with dignitaries and representatives from Aqaba to listen to their demands, suggestions and needs.

The meeting was attended by Adviser to His Majesty for Tribal Affairs Atef Hajaya, President of the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) Nayef Fayez, and Aqaba Governor Khalid Hajjaj. 

During the meeting Issawi said that the event was held upon Royal directives to continue discussions on the priorities and demands of the people of Aqaba, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

Issawi, who is also head of the follow-up committee for the implementation of Royal initiatives, said that all demands, including those mentioned during the Royal meeting on January 2 and those highlighted during this meeting, will be referred to relevant departments for consideration and follow-up. 

He referred to His Majesty King Abdullah’s concern for alleviating the living pressures of citizens and creating opportunities to address poverty and unemployment, by paying more attention to small- and medium-sized enterprises, youth and women's home-based projects and associations, and facilitating the financing and licensing of such projects.

The Royal court chief said that the next stage will see a focus on production and development projects that provide jobs for youth, referring to the implementation of several Royal initiatives in Aqaba over the past few years.

For their part, the dignitaries and representatives from Aqaba praised King Abdullah’s concern for the governorate, and the Royal vision for Aqaba’s development into a tourist and investment attraction, referring to King Abdullah and HRH Crown Prince Hussein’s keenness to continually contact residents of the coastal city to check on their needs.

They also reviewed several demands for the tourism and health sectors, the economy, infrastructure development and necessities to provide jobs for youth to address poverty and unemployment.