His Majesty King Abdullah on Tuesday affirmed that appointments in the government must be based on competence and experience in a fair and transparent manner.

King Abdullah directed the government, during a visit to the Prime Ministry where His Majesty chaired part of a Cabinet meeting, to explain its decisions to the public and to review any unfair appointment.

His Majesty emphasised the need to hold officials and employees accountable for failures in performance and to devote all efforts to improving the quality of services provided to citizens.

"We want to serve our citizens transparently and sincerely," the King said.

His Majesty also stressed the need to streamline administrative procedures for citizens and investors, calling for accelerating the implementation of the e-government programme, which will limit corruption and save time and effort.

Discussing efforts to combat corruption, the King highlighted the importance of the recent measures taken by state agencies in this regard, urging transparency and clarity, which are key elements to build trust between the government and the public.

Prime Minister Omar Razzaz thanked His Majesty for the visit and affirmed that the King’s leadership on foreign policy has paved the way for the government to make substantial progress in advancing ties with various countries, citing relations with Iraq.

Prime Minister Razzaz said the government will organise a retreat with the private sector to examine the challenges facing it, adding that the Cabinet’s economic team meets on a weekly basis with business representatives to discuss challenges they face and take decisions to resolve them.

He added that the government has implemented His Majesty’s directives to fight corruption, pointing to measures related to the findings of the Audit Bureau’s report.

The prime minister said the government recognises that poverty and unemployment are the main challenges facing citizens and is working to address this through various projects in the governorates.

Also during the meeting, a number of ministers highlighted progress in implementing the government’s economic, social, energy, health, transport, agriculture, and public sector plans.