On Tuesday His Royal Highness Prince El Hassan bin Talal delivered a lecture to scholars in the 21st Defense Course and the 7th Master's Program in Strategies for Combating Extremism and Terrorism at the Royal Jordanian National Defense College. The lecture was titled "Managing and Mobilizing National Resources." The lecture was attended by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Major General Yousef Huneiti, and College Commandant, Brigadier General Khaled Bani Younes.

 

His Royal Highness emphasized the importance of institutionalized national resource management, noting that investing in human capital is one of the most important forms of investment in national resources through education, training, and qualification.

 

He stated that Jordan does not have limited resources, but there is a need to define and clarify priorities for optimal resource management by developing planning and implementation methods and adopting governance, foresight, proactivity, and flexibility.

 

His Royal Highness pointed out the need for a comprehensive governance system that regulates resource management within the framework of standards and principles, most notably justice, integrity, transparency, disclosure, responsibility, accountability, reporting, the absence of conflicts of interest, and commitment to implementing legislation. This can be achieved by developing and adopting a national governance model and framework.

 

He highlighted the importance of applying the concepts of holism and comprehensiveness, the overlap of disciplines, and the integration of civil and military resources, emphasizing that defense resource management is an integral part of the development process, especially as the concept of security has expanded beyond military security to encompass food, human, social, economic, water, employment, and other security issues.

 

He pointed out that it is impossible to discuss resource management without addressing the challenges in the Levant and the world. He highlighted the importance of relying on strategic thinking to diversify external resources, especially water, food, and energy, so that national security is ensured through diversification, cooperation, and regional integration.

 

His Highness reiterated the call for the establishment of a permanent body in the region concerned with economic and social planning, and for the creation of an independent knowledge database to support strategic planning and proactive thinking for crisis and disaster management.

 

At the end of the lecture, which was attended by a number of senior officers of the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army, an extensive discussion took place, during which His Highness answered the participants' questions and inquiries.