Washington, Jumada II 15, 1432, May 18, 2011, SPA -U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday reiterated the United States’ support for efforts in the reform process in Jordan. Obama made the statement in his office at the White House after a bilateral meeting between him and Jordan's King Abdullah II. “The United States and Jordan have had a long-standing friendship, an extraordinary relationship of cooperation on a wide range of fronts,” Obama said, citing that they discussed “the extraordinary changes that are taking place throughout the Middle East” and “discussed the situation in Libya and are grateful for the support of a wide range of Arab countries in our efforts to make sure that humanitarian assistance and humanitarian protection occurs inside of Libya.” “We discussed the rapid transformation that’s taking place in Egypt and Tunisia. And we both agreed that it’s critical that not only does political reform proceed but economic reform accompanies those changes there, because so much of what’s taking place has to do with the aspirations of young people throughout the Arab world for their ability to determine their own fate, to get an education, to get a job, to be able to support a family. And that means some of the old structures that were inhibiting their ability to progress have to be reworked,” Obama said. --MORE 11:43 LOCAL TIME 08:43 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/893967