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Since Monday, King Abdullah II and Queen Rania of Jordan have been in Washington, DC where they have been meeting with politicians and participating in forums. This is the second working visit to the United States for Their Majesties since last year’s Arab Spring.
 Click here to see more photos of the press conference The King met with U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday and the two held a brief press conference in the Oval Office. They discussed Syria and the ongoing Mideast Peace Process.
Both leaders denounced the violence in Syria. King Abdullah was the first Arab leader to call for President Bashar al-Assad to step down, and Obama agreed that they were “continuing to see unacceptable levels of violence inside that country” and went on to say that the U.S. will “continue to consult very closely with Jordan to create the kind of international pressure and environment that encourages the current Syrian regime to step aside so a more democratic process can take place inside of Syria.”
The King was asked about the stalled peace process between Israel and the Palestinians, and he answered, “We have to keep our fingers crossed and hope that we can bring the Israelis and Palestinans out of the impasse.”
Accompanying the Jordanian King and Queen is their eldest son, Crown Prince Hussein. After his father finished meeting with President Obama, Hussein and the King met with Vice President Joe Biden and the Secretary of Defense. These meetings are likely meant to prepare the Crown Prince for his future role as King of Jordan. After all, he will be 18 years old later this year.
While her husband and son were visiting with Washington’s most powerful, Queen Rania was not sitting around. On Tuesday, she attended a United Nations Foundation luncheon at the Newseum. As a board member, Rania discussed ways to make the world better for women and for children.
Her Majesty later attended the event 10×10 – Educate Girls. Change the World.
For Wednesday, King Abdullah met with Treasurer Timothy F. Geithner and talked about the U.S. – Jordanian economic links, and the possibility of providing financial aid to the Hashemite Kingdom. Also at the meeting was Jordanian Prime Minister Awn Khasawneh.
Also that day, the King met with Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, head of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, who called for Abdullah to do the following:
“Jordan has not yet appointed an ambassador to Israel in the year and a half since the previous ambassador moved on, and I would strongly encourage you to do so,” she told him.
Ros-Lehtinen also agreed with him that the Syrian President should resign.
“I share that view because Iran is certainly doing all it can to keep Syria afloat but the people are rising up,” she said.
On Thursday, King Abdullah II will address the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Sources: USA Today, The Royal Forums, Petra, AFP
The Queen of Jordan gave out her annual Excellence in Education today at the Applied Science Private University in Amman. Since 2005, Queen Rania has been awarding her country’s teachers, and in 2009, began awarding principals as way to improve education in the Hashemite Kingdom.
 Click here to see more photos This year, 25 teachers and 7 principals received their Excellence in Education awards.
“Change for us is an opportunity,” Her Majesty told those at the university’s the conference center. “An opportunity to learn from the past, and set modern plans for our future.”
“Teach them responsibility,” The Queen told the teachers and principals. “Teach them how to transform their love for Jordan into constructive work, so Jordan and they can grow together.”
The ceremony for this award included a screening of a couple of documentaries which showcased what is expected from a Jordanian educator.
The Teacher’s award began in 2005, and the Principal’s award is biannual. This year, nearly 2,000 applicants for teachers and 282 applicants for principals came in from all over Jordan.
Source: Petra
The Queen of Jordan spoke Wednesday about the need for education at the Opening Ceremony of the Fourth High Level forum on Aid Effectiveness in the South Korean port city of Busan.
 Click here to learn more “We are in a constant continuum of change which is altering the context of development,” said Queen Rania while stressing the need for smart aid towards education.
“Education is more than a right; its a resource,” she said. “It can combat almost every global humanitarian challenge today.”
The Queen went on to say how 67 million children worldwide are unable to attend classes, there are too few teachers and outdated curricula, and many students graduate without the skills needed for a fast changing world.
Rania also highlighted that women need to be encouraged because they “contributed more to global GDP than either new technologies or the emerging economies of China and India.”
Also on Wednesday, Her Majesty visited a teacher’s college and an elementary school in Busan. Kim Sang-young, president of Busan National University of Education, told her about the admissions process, training courses and operations.
Queen Rania was certainly impressed by the South Korean system. “Korea is a prime example of how the power of education can transform a nation,” she told Kim.
“We, Jordan, are facing similar challenges that Korea experienced decades ago. I strongly believe that the single most important element in education is the quality of the teachers.”
She also expressed her envy over how popular and competitive it is to be licensed teacher in the country, whereas in Jordan, teaching is not too many students’ desire.
The Queen was in South Korea for the 4th High-Level International Forum on Aid Effectiveness. She was one of the VIP guests along with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, U.N. Secretary General Ban ki-moon, and for British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Sources: Petra, Korea Times
At the shores of the Dead Sea, Jordan’s King Abdullah II opened this year’s Word Economic Forum, which is intended for the Middle East. As part of his opening speech, His Majesty talked about the need for 85 million jobs in the region, and also he highlighted the Arab Spring.
 Click here to view more photos “This year’s events have opened the way to positive change, but in many places, also created painful economic dislocations. Strategies are urgently needed, and they must take place across the board – in economic life, in politics and policies, in social life and cultural values,” he said.
“Democracy is an entry to real reform,” he went on to say. “Where people can come together as citizens and stakeholders: assembling in political parties; formulating platforms; building consensus. There is no one path forward from this gate. Solutions must and will be home grown, in each of our own countries.”
King Abdullah also discussed the need for a Palestinian statehood and the acceptance of Israel as way for peace and stability in the region.
 Click here to view more photos At the end of his speech, the King gave his condolences to Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, who’s heir and brother, Crown Prince Sultan, passed away Saturday.
Watching and listening to his speech in the front row was Queen Rania and Spanish King Juan Carlos. The King of Spain is in Jordan for a few days as a guest of King Abdullah II.
This Forum was originally scheduled for February. But because of the uprisings and protests in the Middle East, it was rescheduled for October.
Sources: Reuters, Petra News Agency
On Tuesday, the Queen of Jordan stopped by the Naour Health Center in Amman to see how it spreads awareness of diabetes in the Hashemite Kingdom. The Center does this through the Global Micro-Clinic Program (GMCP), an organization that works with local communities to decrease serious health problems.
 Click on image to learn more Her Majesty Queen Rania was briefed on the program, listened to a lecture given by Wala’a Omar, a GMCP officer, and spoke with the beneficiaries of the program. She also stopped by a cooking session with Ala’a Shelleh, who was teaching those with diabetes how to make nutritious and healthy meals.
The GMCP has been partnered with the Royal Health Awareness Society and the Ministry of Health since July 2009. So far, it has set up 700 micro-clinics throughout Jordan with over 2,000 benefiting from them.
According to Jordanian statistics, over 30 percent of its citizens under the age of 30 have diabetes. Estimates say by 2050, 3 million Jordanians will have the disease.
Source: Petra News Agency
 Click here to see more photos! The cousin of the King of Jordan got married Friday in a ceremony attended by Arab and European royals alike. Prince Rashid Al Hassan, the son of King Abdullah II’s uncle, 31 year old Prince El Hassan, married Zeina Shabban, age 23 and a former athlete. The couple got engaged about a year ago.
The ceremony took place at Basman Palace in the presence of the King, Queen Rania, Prince El Hassan and his wife, Princess Sarvath, plus the bride’s extended family.
Royals in attendance were King Hamad of Bahrain, Queen Sofia of Spain, Sweden’s Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel, and the Duke of Edinburgh.
The groom’s father was once heir to the Hashemite Kingdom for decades. But in 1999, on his deathbed, Prince Hassan’s brother, King Hussein, changed the succession and gave the throne to his son, Abdullah. If King Hussein had not made that historic change. Prince Rashid would be heir to the Jordanian throne now, and Princess Zeina, the next Queen.
Source: Ammon News
The King and Queen of Jordan went to Qatar Tuesday for a one day working visit, which is like a state visit minus all the pageantry. King Abdullah II and Queen Rania were welcomed in Doha by Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al thani and Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser al Missned.
The point of the King’s visit was to discuss with the Emir about forging closer ties between Jordan and Qatar, as well as talk about the latest developments in the Middle East.
Joining the heads of state during this meeting was the King’s half brother, Prince Ali, and Qatar’s Crown Prince Tamim.
In the afternoon, the Emir and Sheikha Mozah hosted a lunch banquet for Abdullah and Rania.
Source: Petra News Agency
As part of their whirlwind visit to the Mideast, Spain’s Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia stopped by Jordan on Wednesday. They were welcomed by King Abdullah II and Queen Rania, whom held a lunch banquet in their honor. The meal consisted of Mansaf – a traditional Jordanian dish made of lamb cooked in a sauce of fermented dried yogurt and served with rice – and hummus.
Afterward, Prince Felipe took time to meet with the King to discuss stronger bilateral ties between Jordan and Spain. He had a similar meeting with Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit, whom praised Spain’s support of the kingdom’s education, training and energy fields.
Bakhit also briefed the Prince on the political changes Jordan is going through. Jordan, like so many other Arab nations, is looking to reform after months of protests by its people.
As always, the subject of the Mideast Peace Process and establishing a Palestinian state was talked about.
Later on Wednesday, Prince Felipe and Princess Letizia did some touring of Amman, with Prince Mohammed bin Talal and Princess Gheida accompanying them. They went to the Martyr’s Memorial, where they were received by Deputy Chairman of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff Major General Zeyad Majali.
The Spanish royals also went to the University of Jordan and opened the Spanish pavilion in one of its buildings.
Sources: Zawya, Hello! Magazine
The Queen of Jordan went to the southern governate of Tafileh Monday to check in three school that are part of the her Madrasati initiative. Queen Rania launched Madrasati, or “My School”, in 2010 as a way to improve education and school buildings in Jordan. A total of 96 schools in Jordan’s southern region are part of the initiative.
 Petra News Agency The first school she stopped by was Al Qadisieh Secondary School for Girls. There, Rania – along with Madrasati Director Dana Dajani – toured its computer lab. The lab was created under Madrasati and the Jordan Education Initiative (JEI).
Later on, the Queen sat in on a Madrasati sponsored workshop called, “The Art of Storytelling Through Photography”. She even took a look at the school’s art gallery and visited some classrooms.
Next, Her Majesty went to Fatima Al Zahraa Elementary School for Girls, where she toured its sports hall, which was renovated by Madrasati. Rania was told that even though the school had very little sporting equipment, its students managed to compete for the King Abdullah Physical Fitness Award and win gold and silver medals.
Queen Rania also met with math teachers who told her about the skills they’ve developed under the Queen Rania Teacher Academy (QRTA). She also chatted with the students about their hopes for their school. The girls told her about volunteers from Denmark whom helped them create a wall mural on one of the outside school walls.
For her final stop, the Queen went to Farwa Elementary Coed School, where she inspected the structural and renovation work that took place, and watched a sports activity conducted by a Madrasati community organizer.
Source: Jordan Times
As the world reacted with shock and sadness at the 8.9 earthquake that struck Japan Friday, world leaders were quick to express their condolences to Emperor Akihito, the head of state.
 AP Photo/Keichi Nakane, The Yomiuri Shimbun
“I was saddened to hear of the tragic loss of life caused by the earthquake which has struck north east Japan today,” Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II told the emperor.
“Prince Philip joins me in extending our heartfelt sympathy to your Majesty and the people of Japan. Our prayers and thoughts are with everyone who has been affected by the dreadful disaster.”
On Twitter, the two Queens of Jordan expressed their sadness over the disaster.
“My heart goes out to all affected by quake &tsunami in Japan including my beloved child who works there. God bless. &protect all,” tweeted Queen Noor, who was referring to youngest daughter, Princess Raiyah.
Noor’s stepdaughter-in-law, Queen Rania, wrote on the social networking site: “Awestruck by devastating power of nature in Japan. Thoughts & prayers are with those who lost loved ones, & those who wait in uncertainty.”
“A truly humbling reminder of our vulnerability, as humans in the end, we only have each other and our faith.”
On a personal note, I would like to express my condolences to the Japanese readers of Royalty in the News. The world is on your side, and my prayers are with you. – Megan
Sources: Telegraph, Twitter
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