Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh held his third dialogue session on political reforms at Yarmouk University in Irbid entitled "Development Visions: The Youth as the Axis of Attention." Khasawneh told university students from the northern governorates that the state "is the guarantor of implementing the vision of His Majesty King Abdullah II by implementing the outputs of the Political System Modernisation Committee." Khasawneh said, "During my dialogues with young people in the central and southern regions, I sensed concerns about the idea of participating in partisan life as a result of previous prohibitions," adding that the recent constitutional amendments and the election and party laws provided guarantees to enhance the participation of younger Jordanians and women in the party and political life. "There are no longer obstacles for young men and women to engage in political life, partisan work and partisan activities in universities, and we urge them to do so as they are the engine of change in society," he explained. "Students in universities will not be affected by their involvement in political and partisan work, whether they are studying in universities at their own expense or on scholarships at the expense of any party," Khasawneh added. He added that the law would hold accountable people who would try to discourage others from engaging in partisan work. Responding to audience questions, Khasawneh said that the "crisis of the lack of confidence is due to the failure to present the facts as they are to people," adding that there had been a lack of clarity on the public sector's ability to accommodate graduates, which exceeds 130,000 as its employment capacity is 10,000 to 15,000 maximum. He said the government promotes trust between the government and the people through a "conscious discourse based on well-studied plans." Khasawneh noted that 70 per cent of public spending is earmarked for salaries and pensions, and about 13.7 per cent is allocated for paying off the country's debts. He added that "there is a gap between revenues and expenditures" that amounts to about JOD2 billion Jordanian covered by annual borrowing. He added that Jordan's economy achieved 2.8 growth, an increase in national exports by 4 per cent, a 68 per cent increase in tourism income, a 1 per cent decrease in unemployment and a decrease in the trade balance deficit.
Source: Jordan News Agency