His Majesty King Abdullah on Monday presented awards to the winners of the King Abdullah II Excellence Awards.

The King Abdullah II Excellence Award programme selects the top achievers in the public, private and business sectors, in an attempt to motivate their performance and the quality of their services.

His Royal Highness Prince Feisal, chairman of the board of trustees of the King Abdullah II Centre for Excellence (KACE) which administers the programme, and other officials attended the ceremony.

Winning ministries and public institutions included the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources which won first place among ministries participating more than once. Also, the Central Bank of Jordan came first among public institutions participating more than once.

Best employee awards went to Colonel Bassem Qteishat from the Central Traffic Department in the category of the Distinguished Leading/Supervising Employee Award.

Also, Captain Lara Abu Ghazaleh, a physician from the Royal Medical Services, received first place in the category of Distinguished Administrative/Technical Employee, while Hashem Trad from the Jordan Industrial Estates Corporation received top prize in the category of Distinguished Support Employee.

During the ceremony, Fayez Tarawneh, deputy chairman of the KACE board of trustees, said two new categories will be introduced under the same award, in accordance with King Abdullah’s directives.

The new prizes are meant to encourage ministries and public institutions to adopt best practices and innovative ways to deal with individuals and businesses in the general public.