Learning to read and write changes lives; it means jobs, money, health, and dreams fulfilled.

As a child I sometimes used to travel to the West Bank to visit my family, so I know what the checkpoints felt like. I knew what it was like to live under occupation.

When you deprive people of their right to live in dignity, to hope for a better future, to have control over their lives, when you deprive them of that choice, then you expect them to fight for these rights.

We always say Jordan is not rich in natural resources - we don't have oil or gas like some of our neighbors do - but I think in terms of human resources, we are quite lucky and we are really trying to foster an environment of innovation and technology. I think Jordan will emerge as a center of innovation in the Middle East.

Democracies are slow to anger and hesitant to go to war: Voters don't want to sacrifice their children for the glory of a selfish king.

After every major conflict - World War I, World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the fall of the Soviet Union - what happened was that we ultimately hollowed out the force, largely by doing deep across-the-board cuts.

One can not reflect in streaming water. Only those who know internal peace can give it to others.

We will do everything in our power to make sure cross-strait stability becomes the driving force for peace in the Asia-Pacific region.