Jordan's King Abdullah II held a rare meeting with Islamic leaders on Thursday and assured them that he was determined to carry out "real and comprehensive" political and economic reforms, dpa reported.
"The monarch made it clear that his vision of comprehensive and modernisation reforms should be translated into tangible steps to be felt by all Jordanians," a royal court statement said.
He also vowed "not to back down against pressure by forces that have so far blocked the political development process out of their keenness on protecting their own interests".
Among those attending the meeting were leader of the Muslim Brotherhood movement, Hammam Saeed, and secretary general of its political arm, the Islamic Action Front (IAF), Hamzeh Mansour.
King Abdullah sacked Prime Minister Samir Rifai's government on Tuesday after a series of protests that swept the country over the past three weeks and asked ex-premier Marouf Bakhit to form a new cabinet.
During Thursday's meeting, the monarch tried to dampen fears expressed by Islamists over the choice of Bakhit as prime minister, given the fact that he was in power during the 2009 elections, when the Brotherhood charged that polling was "rigged".
"I expect the new government to embark immediately after its formation on laying down the institutional framework for systematic and comprehensive national dialogue that involves all components of society," the monarch said.
IAF Deputy Secretary General Nimer Assaf described the outcome of the meeting as "very positive". "We have heard the king's vision on reforms and he listened to our viewpoint," he said without going into details.
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