- King Abdullah said his nation had 160,000 engineers and other skilled young workers
- Called on delegates at the conference to invest in the younger population
RIYADH: The Jordanian ruler, King Abdullah II, has called on business and world leaders to invest in his nation鈥檚 youth, saying that while they account for a small proportion of the region鈥檚 population, they still played a significant role.
He said young Jordanians 鈥渟peak the same language鈥� as the Saudi leadership.
鈥淭hey are the key to the future,鈥� he said on Tuesday during his short speech at the Future Investment Initiative 2019 conference in Riyadh.
鈥淲e in the region recognize the need to nurture our young people鈥檚 skills and to harness them,鈥� he said, adding: 鈥淢y country strongly believes in this, they are the inventors of tomorrow.鈥�
Acknowledging the small size of the Jordanian population, he said: 鈥淛ordanians may only cover 3 percent of the region鈥檚 youth, but they are 27 percent of the innovators.鈥�
King Abdullah said his nation had 160,000 engineers and other skilled young workers who could help to improve cybersecurity and much more.
鈥淥ur youth, the youth of this region are looking to you,鈥� he said.
Then he called on delegates at the conference to invest in the younger population.
鈥淲ith your vital resources and our precious human capital there is not limit. We look to take flight into a hope and prosperity of which we can all share.
鈥淭his is a business opportunity that we cannot miss.鈥�