JORDAN: They talk a lot about "the Irish model" in Jordan, though not the sort you're likely to see running around the jungle in a reality-TV game show.
From King Abdullah down, this country's leaders are transfixed by the Irish model of economic development, and the possibility that somehow this miracle could be transferred from our Atlantic shores to a Middle Eastern desert state.
The countries have a lot more in common than first meets the eye, according to King Abdullah. "We're much more like each other than you think. Jordanians seem to get along with the Irish, and vice-versa" he says.
He points to the more obvious similarities: both countries have roughly the same population size; both are short on natural resources; both know well the effects of bloody conflicts just beyond their borders; both produce a similar number of IT graduates; and both enjoy regional reputations for high educational standards.
But Jordan, like Ireland, has painful historical experience of the "brain drain" of qualified professionals that can result when job provision fails to keep pace with the production of graduates.
King Abdullah is already familiar with this country from his time living in Britain, from where he came on regular visits to Dublin and Cork. He remembers the economic backwater that was Ireland in the 1980s.
"When you see Ireland now compared to what it was in the early 1980s, it's a tremendous success," he says.
So, on his ascent to the throne of the Hashemite kingdom in 1999, he immediately started studying successful small economies, such as Singapore and Ireland, in the hope of finding out how some of their magic might rub off on the Arab state.
Consultants from Forfás were brought in to teach the specific lessons of the Irish experience and provide a path for a modernising Jordan to follow. A co-operation agreement between the two governments followed last year, covering the areas of e-government, e-learning and private sector networking.
The king believes the Irish experience shows how the private sector has to take the lead in economic development. But he also praises the contribution of semi-State organisations such as Forfás and the IDA in knitting together the private and public sectors.
He is particularly impressed by Ireland's success in attracting multinationals to invest in IT, pharmaceuticals and services, and hopes Jordan might be able to emulate this success.