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Forum for the Future Goals Find Strong Support in Broader Mideast

Inaugural meeting in Morocco produced broad dialogue, concrete initiatives

The principles and goals of the Forum for the Future have taken root in the countries of the broader Middle East and North Africa, according to State Department deputy spokesman Adam Ereli, and the countries of the region are moving ahead with specific initiatives to improve educational, economic and political opportunities.

"I think you should take a careful look at what happened in Rabat," Ereli told reporters at a December 15 briefing. "That -- more than any words that we can say as the United States -- affirms that this idea has gotten traction, this idea is something that is responsive to what people in the region are looking for, and they have taken the ball and are running with it at full speed towards a brighter future."

Rabat, Morocco, was the site of the inaugural meeting of the Forum for the Future December 10 and 11. The forum brought together government, civic and business leaders from across the broader Middle East and North Africa and from the Group of Eight (G8) industrial nations to discuss initiatives aimed at broadening economic and political participation within the countries of the region.

Ereli said that leaders from civic organizations representing everything from women's rights and economic rights to freedom of the press and freedom of expression had the opportunity to sit with their political leaders and say, "these regulations, these practices, these laws are holding us back or are restricting the creativity and productivity and involvement of the citizens in the affairs of their country; and it's not just bad for us, it's bad for you, too."

He said this type of direct dialogue between the governments and the people of the region has not happened before and needs to occur more often. "We're hoping that it opens the door to a sustained interaction where government is responsive to the needs of the people," he said.

Ereli noted that representatives of the countries in the region proposed several initiatives at the meeting. These included literacy training programs, election support initiatives, entrepreneurship training facilities and small business funding networks.

He said that political and economic development are complementary and must go hand in hand.

"You can't have an economically empowered populace without giving them some measure of freedom. A measure of freedom will do no good if they don't have any way to act on and profit from their creative impulses," he said.

He said that the Forum for the Future addresses the fundamental aspects of social development which, when neglected, have been a source of frustration in the region.

Ereli said that the forum, for the first time, brought the leaders and people of the region together to say "this is what we want for ourselves, and we are going to work in partnership with others to try to achieve maximum benefit for everybody."

Following is a transcript of Ereli's briefing:

U.S. Foreign Policy after Secretary Powell's Trip to Europe and Morocco, December 6-11

Adam Ereli, Deputy Spokesman, U.S. Department of State
Foreign Press Center Briefing
Washington, DC
December 15, 2004

MR. DENIG: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the Washington Foreign Press Center. I'm very pleased this afternoon that for our final briefing of the year we have the Department of State's Deputy Spokesman Adam Ereli to brief on the Secretary's recent trip to both Europe and Morocco, covering very many important meetings. And this will provide us, I think, with a very useful wrap-up of U.S. foreign policy at the end of the year 2004.

After his opening remarks on the Secretary's trip, Mr. Ereli will take your questions.

Adam.

MR. ERELI: Thank you, Paul, and it's not too early to say Merry Christmas to all of you. So, in fact, the Public Affairs Bureau Christmas party is tomorrow afternoon from 2 PM to 4 PM in the second floor corridor outside the Briefing Room, so you guys, we hope to see you there.

What I wanted to do was just sort of give a brief recap of the Secretary's trip that he took last week to Bulgaria, Brussels, The Netherlands and Morocco, because it really encapsulates some of the accomplishments, many of the accomplishments, we've been able to achieve this year, and also is a good point for looking forward to the next year and what we hope to achieve with our European friends and our friends in the Arab world.

The Secretary, as I said, traveled to Europe and Middle East. In Sofia he attended an OSCE ministerial. And, well, let me take a step back and talk about some of the more general points.

The trip to Europe really was an opportunity for us to emphasize the importance to the United States of strengthening Euro-Atlantic relations. It's a subject that, I think, has been much discussed, and, frankly, if it's such a word, mis-discussed, in the sense that commentary has portrayed the United States as unilateralist, as shunning Europe, as going it alone. And the fact that the Secretary has spent so much time in Europe, that the United States has devoted so much attention and so much political capital on European or Euro-Atlantic institutions, I think is a testimony to the value we put in those institutions.

And the Secretary gave a number of very important addresses in Europe where he said, look, there are common values and shared traditions which bind the United States and Europe and, frankly, serve as one of the fundamental keystones of the international order; and the United States recognizes that it cannot achieve its interests and its goals in foreign policy without a strong and cooperative relationship with Europe. And that was the spirit that infused his meetings in Bulgaria and Brussels and the Netherlands.

And then again, in Rabat, or in Europe, if the spirit was really one of continued partnership in the Middle East and in Morocco, the spirit was one of building a new partnership. And that is the Broader Middle East and North African Initiative, but in particular the Forum for the Future, which was the first time that this gathering got together. And it grouped the countries of the Middle East with the countries of G-8, the Arab League, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), in a detailed discussion of ways in which we could all work together to advance political participation, civic empowerment, education and economic opportunity.

So with that general introduction, let me go into a couple of highlights of what we think we accomplished and what we're looking forward to.

In Sofia we were able to reaffirm our commitment to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. The Secretary, in particular, noted the OSCE's work in support of free and fair elections in Georgia, in Afghanistan and in Ukraine, and we also came to agreement on a number of important initiatives in the area of terrorism and trafficking in persons and racism and discrimination, particularly discrimination against Muslims. We also noted the important contributions of Bulgaria, which has played a leading role in Iraq and Afghanistan and the Security Council and in NATO and in its role as Chairman of the OSCE.

In Brussels the Secretary attended his eighth and last North Atlantic Council meeting, the last one as Secretary of State. He took advantage of this opportunity to underscore how NATO has evolved from a Cold War alliance to an alliance for the multi-polar world that we live in now. He noted how NATO had been transformed, or had transformed itself, to deal with new threats anywhere in the world. A couple of years ago there was always this debate in NATO about whether they should get engaged in out-of-area activities and was this the proper thing for NATO to do, and now out-of-area is really not an issue anymore, looking at what they're doing in the Balkans, looking at what they're doing in Afghanistan, looking at what they're doing in Iraq. The notion of "area" for NATO has expanded way beyond its Cold War limitations.

So the specific things that we welcomed were NATO support for democracy and stability in Afghanistan and the Balkans, and helping Iraqis to provide for their own security. We welcomed the seven new members into the alliance and talked about expanding NATO operations in Afghanistan, underscoring the importance of a new robust mission for NATO in Kosovo and saluting the passing of the baton from SFOR, which was the NATO-led operation, to EUFOR, which will be a European Union-led operation in Bosnia.

In The Hague, the Secretary attended the U.S.-EU Troika ministerial. It was, again, an opportunity for us to underscore the value we put on our relationship with Europe and the EU because we recognize, again, that the kind of partnership that we have is critical to American economic and security and political interests around the world. And the agenda items, I think, are a reflection of that. They talked about fighting terrorism. They talked about support for Iraq's transformation. They talked about support for Iraq's upcoming elections, as well as the Palestinian elections and the work of the Quartet. And they also talked about, very importantly, nonproliferation in Iran and how we can work together to combat that danger. The Secretary, like he did in Brussels, thanked his host, The Netherlands, for their superb service and performance as President of the EU during the past six months.

Going now to Rabat, as I said earlier, it was the first time that Forum for the Future has met in the region. I think, frankly, having briefed you guys a number of times on the Broader Middle East and North Africa Initiative, I noted a healthy degree of skepticism about the -- how should I put it? -- the value or popularity of this initiative. I think you should take a careful look at what happened in Rabat. And that -- more than any words that we can say as the United States -- affirms that this idea has gotten traction, this idea is something that is responsive to what people in the region are looking for, and they have taken the ball and are running with it at full speed towards a brighter future.

Let me be a little bit more specific. First of all, let's look who was there: almost all the countries in the region, as I said earlier, as well as the Arab League, the European Union, the GCC and the G-8. It was being hosted in Morocco, which, I think, should give the lie to suggestions that somehow this is an initiative that is imposed from the outside; to the contrary, it is one that has local ownership. It brought government officials together with businessmen, together with private citizens and civil society leaders, to talk about the issues that confront the region, to talk about what the region needs to do to meet the needs of its people, and they came up with some very concrete ideas and action items for the future.

In the area of democracy assistance, the participants in the Forum agreed to focus in the coming year on providing electoral assistance, improving the role of women and advancing relations between the region's governments and civil society through programs and projects supporting democratization and public participation.

In the area of literacy, the participants agreed, as a goal, to work toward cutting in half the illiteracy rate over the next decade and to improve education, especially for girls and women. Foreign participants will develop a literacy plan of action for the region and convene a meeting of education ministers in May of next year in Jordan.

In the area of business promotion and finance, there was a recognition that the private sector is the engine of economic growth and job creation, and the participants agreed to establish the International Finance Corporation's Private Enterprise Partnership for the Middle East and North Africa. This facility will support small- and medium-sized enterprises. And the International Finance Corporation has already contributed over $60 million of the $100 million that is the goal for this fund.

Also, in the area of entrepreneurship, Morocco and Bahrain will establish two entrepreneurship centers in 2005 to provide the region's young people with opportunities and skills they will need to succeed professionally. In terms of providing those entrepreneurs with the wherewithal to do their work, the foreign participants established a micro-finance consultative group that will open a technical hub and micro-finance training center in Jordan. The consultative group to assist the poor will also work with Yemen and other countries in the region on developing micro-finance projects to assist the region's small entrepreneurs, especially women.

Finally, the participants agreed to meet in Bahrain in November 2005 to review progress on these proposals and projects, as well as discuss other reform efforts. And I think what this shows is that there really is traction, there really is momentum, and that this is something that the countries, both in terms of the leadership as well as the population, have embraced and are moving on.

So, in sum, this was a really significant visit, a really significant trip in a number of countries, but with one common theme; and that theme is partnership, working together to both support existing institutions and patterns of cooperation, as well as to establish new ones that respond to the needs of the people.

Yes.

QUESTION: Umit Enginsoy with Turkish NTV Television.

I think Secretary Powell also discussed Turkey's EU membership bid with his European counterparts last week. What was the U.S. message and what's the latest U.S. position on that matter?

And in a related question, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan is expected to be present at the EU Summit amid reports that European leaders could discuss with him an effort, new efforts to resolve the Cyprus question. How would the United States regard such an initiative for Cyprus?

Thanks.

MR. ERELI: On the question of Turkey's EU accession, it wasn't a subject, I think, that was talked about a great deal simply because this is a matter between Turkey and the EU.
The Secretary expressed, as we have expressed before, our view that the EU and Turkey need to work out this issue between them, and we support their dialogue on that. We did note that it appears to us that Turkey has gone a long way towards meeting the benchmarks and targets that were set forth by the EU, but again, that assessment and what flows from that assessment is something for the EU and Turkey to discuss.

As far as a new Cyprus initiative, I'm not aware of any sort of trick that the Secretary General is ready to pull out of his hat on the Cyprus question. Obviously, we believe that the plan, the Annan plan for Cyprus that was voted on earlier this year and failed in the referendum, was a plan that we very strongly support. I'm not aware that there is consideration being given to presenting an alternative to that, but that's something that's really in the Secretary General's bailiwick. We believe that the plan that he presented earlier was a good solution, a solution that we endorsed, and a solution that we think would have redounded to the benefit of all Cypriots.

QUESTION: (Inaudible.)

MR. DENIG: Could you wait for the microphone, please? Thanks.

QUESTION: Reha Atasagun, TRT Turkish Television. But Secretary Powell called Turkish Foreign Minister Gul today. What was the reason for that? And also, apart from this phone call, did Powell got in touch with other European leaders today, or will he be --

MR. ERELI: The Secretary will be meeting with the French Foreign Minister later this afternoon. And, as you know, Foreign Minister Gul is in Brussels, so it's an opportunity for Secretary Powell to hear from the Turkish Foreign Minister how things are going, and you know, they talk pretty regularly.

Yes, ma'am.

QUESTION: Nadia Bilbassy from Al Arabiya TV.

The Administration keeps on saying that they don't want to import democracy on the region, people in the Middle East, and they preferred a homegrown one. Can you explain this strategy? Exactly how does it work? I mean, do you go to these regimes and you tell them that democracy is good, it's worked for you, but you have to come with your own model and then we can support it?

And whether the United States now seems to use the economic sort of aid as a pattern of trying to help these regimes, as we saw in Bahrain and recently in Egypt, of more encouraging them to reform; is this -- this is the case?

MR. ERELI: I guess there are pieces of it there but, first of all, it's a case-by-case issue. Our relationship with each country is different based on the conditions in that country, based on the circumstances in that country, based on the history of that country. What we do economically or politically with each country is different, based on the status of their economy and the regulatory environment. You mentioned Bahrain, for example -- let's take Bahrain for an example. We have a free trade agreement with Bahrain, or we're negotiating a free trade agreement with Bahrain. We have a free trade agreement with Jordan. But we don't have one, let's say, with Saudi Arabia. That's not because Bahrain or Jordan is better than another country or because they have done things that we like more than other countries. It's simply because the economic circumstances in one country is different from another country. But one should not say that because we have this agreement with this country and don't have that agreement with another country, our relationship is better or worse, or Country X has done more that we want them to do than Country Y.

I would say, as a general principle, we seek to encourage economic reform, economic liberalization, as a way to provide economic opportunity and prosperity to a country's population. It's in the interest of that country. It's in our interest because it promotes trade. It promotes closer relations.

In the area of democratization, which you mentioned, again, we make the point, and I think the President made the point very, very eloquently in his speech in London in November of last year, that democracy, to us, the United States, is really a reflection of the natural human condition, that human beings desire to be free and that the United States believes it is in its interest and it's in the international order's interest to help people develop and live freely. But how that's done with each country depends on that country. So in the context of the Forum for the Future, we're going to work with the participants and the groups in each country in ways that respond to the realities there. You know, I think if you look at the dialogue between civil society and government in one country, it's not the same as its neighbors. That doesn't mean that participation and citizen empowerment isn't happening in both, but they're happening at different paces and in different ways. But it's not something that we are going to impose. We are going to make clear our views. We are going to help where we can. We are going to seek to encourage where we can. And I think in some cases the absence of democracy is going to influence us.

QUESTION: You haven't mentioned anything about civil societies or progressive movement within countries. Are you, at the moment, concentrating on dealing with governments?

MR. ERELI: Well, that's a good question. I mean, in Forum for the Future -- and I tried to make reference to that in my remarks -- in Morocco you had civil society leaders, leaders of women NGOs, leaders of political NGOs, leaders of citizens groups that are trying to help disadvantaged citizens or help freedom of expression or help freedom of the media, and business leaders who are trying to promote business associations and free trade associations. You had these nongovernmental activists sitting down with governmental representatives from their own countries and saying, hey, you know, these regulations, these practices, these laws are holding us back or are restricting the creativity and productivity and involvement of the citizens in the affairs of their country; and it's not just bad for us, it's bad for you, too.

So it's that kind of dialogue, it's that kind of engagement, which is, perhaps, in some ways revolutionary because it hasn't happened, and it needs to happen. And we're hoping that it opens the door to a sustained interaction where government is responsive to the needs of the people.

QUESTION: Can I follow up?

MR. ERELI: Yeah, sure.

QUESTION: I'm Khaled Dawoud from Egypt's Al Ahram newspaper.

It's like, actually, if you can directly respond to reports in the press that before the Forum for the Future meeting there was a shift in the U.S. policy towards concentrating more on economic aspects rather than democracy. They particularly point to the case of Saudi Arabia, where, I mean, women are not going to still be allowed to have elections, or in the case of Libya, which doesn't have any democracy at all but still you have very good relations with them right now.

Thank you.

MR. ERELI: Well, look, I think there was some really bad reporting done on this meeting. And it's wrong, it's misleading, it's unfair to suggest that the political content of the Forum of the Future was toned down, or that the focus was on economics and not on politics. It's just not true. And, you know, I've seen those reports, but I haven't seen any information to substantiate it or back it up. I mean, the one report I saw said, oh, they agreed not to talk about politics after the Saudis said the Palestinian problem is our big problem. Well, that doesn't make sense.

The fact of the matter is, as I said earlier, that when you have citizens making demands on governments, face to face with those governments, that is an inherently political activity, number one. Number two, I would argue that whether they're making a demand for access to capital or more liberal investment laws or more permissive lending rates or for literacy programs for women or for better vocational training, that you can't make a distinction between politics and economics, because they go hand in hand.

You can't have an economically empowered populace without giving them some measure of freedom. A measure of freedom will do no good if they don't have any way to act on and profit from their creative impulses. So that's why I think this whole discussion of, well, is it political or economic, draws a false distinction.

The fact of the matter is, what we're talking about is addressing some of the fundamental aspects of social development in this part of the world that are the source of frustration for the publics in that part of the world.

QUESTION: What about the rights of women in Saudi Arabia, or the absence of democracy in Libya?

MR. ERELI: Well, you know, as I said, not every country is in the same place on the democratization spectrum, nor has that ever been the case in the history of free nations. That said, the fact that these countries participated, in our view, indicates a certain willingness and openness to the idea that is welcome and should be encouraged and built upon.

Yes, ma'am.

QUESTION: Thanks. Aya Batrawy, Kuwait News Agency.

My first question is actually about French Foreign Minister Barnier meeting today with Secretary Powell. The decision on Monday by the French court to ban Al Manar television from France, Barnier called that just and I think he supported it. Does the U.S. have any positions on that yet, and is it going to follow in the French footsteps? That's the first question.

The second question, though, is actually concerning -- you said there was resolution, that something was discussed about discrimination against Muslims. Can you, like, talk more about that?

MR. ERELI: On what was passed at the OSCE, I'd refer you to the final communiqué. My understanding is that they appointed three special representatives to combat anti-Semitism, racism and discrimination, including discrimination against Muslims. And that was an action taken by the OSCE, but for more detail I'd refer you to their final communiqué.

As far as the French action against Al Manar Television, it's a French decision. We certainly have made clear our views concerning Al Manar Television, that it produces programming that is racist, hate-filled, and propagates some of the more horrific and egregious examples of anti-Semitic propaganda.

Yes.

QUESTION: Yes, Jyri Raivio, Helsingin Sonamat, Finland.

Somebody once said that the OSCE still exists because the members have forgotten to dismantle it. Does the U.S. think that there is still sort of proper, meaningful work enough for the OSCE in guiding the elections, or following the elections, monitoring them? Is that the justification for the continuing existence of the organization?

MR. ERELI: Well, the organization was established in the wake of the Helsinki Declaration. I think the answer to your question is: Do you think the principles and goals and ideals of the Helsinki Declaration are so outdated and obsolete that an organization dedicated to their defense and support should be disbanded? Our view is absolutely not, and one need only look so far as Ukraine to see the continued relevance and utility of organizations like the OSCE. And moreover, I think one of the strongest endorsements for the continued relevance of the OSCE is the interest among non-member states in becoming members. So I would take very, very strong issue with critics or observers who suggest that the OSCE is either an obsolete or increasingly irrelevant organization.

Yes, you had a question.

QUESTION: Thank you. Ben Bangoura, Guinea News and RTF, Radio/Television of Senegal. That's the reason I have two questions, if you don't mind.

The first question, President Wade of Senegal was here last week and he met with President Bush in Oval Office and he told reporters that among they others, they discuss the idea of forcing dialogue between Christians and Muslim into international conference as a way to build understanding on them and another way, also, to fight the terrorism.

I was wondering how such idea was receive in Washington.

MR. ERELI: Well, as you said, they discussed this. I think that President Bush and the United States Government, as a whole, as demonstrated by The Forum for the Future, as demonstrated by our efforts in a number of fora, believe very, very strongly in both interfaith and international dialogue to the extent that we can support international understanding and counter accusations that somehow, we favor one religion over another or one part of the world over another, that's useful and welcome. So we are very outspoken with respect to our belief in the equality of all peoples and in the right of all peoples to practice their faith and respect the faiths of others. This is a principle that I think there should be no doubt about where we stand on.

As far as -- what was the second part of the question?

QUESTION: Yes, the second question is, I would like to know if you have any comment about the latest appointment of the new prime minister in Guinea; Guinea, which has remained in political and economic crises as the government now of President Conte refused to open dialogue with opposition and undertake the necessary economic reforms there?

MR. ERELI: I don't have any comment on that appointment. I don't know enough about it to give you an opinion.

Yes, sir.

QUESTION: Secretary Powell has said that -- yeah, I'm Li Xue Jun from China's Xinhua News Agency.

Secretary Powell has said that the U.S.-China relations have been the best in decades. So I wonder, how will the Bush Administration turn around the good relations in his second term? And also, Taiwan has been the most important issue in U.S.-China relations, so I wonder if, you know, you can comment on the -- Taiwan's elections several days ago.

MR. ERELI: The only comment I would have on Taiwan's elections is that it shows that democracy is alive and well in Taiwan; that you can have a legislative campaign with so many parties and people able to freely express their opinion and choose their representative. So that is a good thing. But our policy with respect to Taiwan, obviously, is unaffected.

With regard to what to look for in the future in terms of U.S.-Chinese relations, I would say, from our point of view, we're hoping for more of the same. I certainly think that Secretary Powell's successor will continue the policies of President Bush, which is to look for a close, cooperative, mutually beneficial relationship with China. We have so many common interests that it is critical that as two nations, we work together with all mutual respect and trust to try to achieve our common interests.

There are always going to be, as with any two nations, areas where there are disagreements. But the hallmark, in our view, of a strong relationship and a good relationship is that we can be comfortable enough with each other to speak openly about what our differences are, but at the same time, maintain the kind of friendship and respect to work together in areas where there are common -- where there is a common purpose.

And that is what has characterized what we've been able to achieve over the last four years. And I would fully expect it to continue in the next four years.

QUESTION: My name is Azzam Fouzi with Moroccan News Agency.

What is, in your view, the biggest achievement that's accomplished during the Rabat Forum?

MR. ERELI: I think the biggest achievement, frankly, is that the entire world sees that reform is something that is homegrown. The fact that the Forum was held in Morocco should demonstrate that countries in the region believe in the principles of the Forum, embrace those ideals and are working, themselves, to try to help their people. To us, that's a very powerful message. This isn't about the United States or the G-8 or the EU coming up with some ideas and ramming them down the region's throat. Rather, it's a question of the leaders and the people of the region saying, this is what we want for ourselves, and we are going to work in partnership with others to try to achieve maximum benefit for everybody.

Thank you.

MR. DENIG: Thank you very much, Mr. Ereli. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.