SHUNEH, Jordan, 21 May 2005 — Jordan’s King Abdallah said yesterday peace in the Middle East was essential for a sustainable development of the region. The king was opening a three-day conference of the World Economic Forum (WEF) at this Dead Sea resort.
“This forum must face the realities of peace and conflict. Regional instability remains a major barrier to sustainable development and prosperity. Failing to solve this problem is simply not an option,” he added. The king was referring to the half-a-century-old Arab-Israeli conflict.
Abdallah urged about 1,200 participants to help Arab countries to “forge a consensus on specific reforms.” “Your action can have a huge impact. In the region, you will help forge consensus on specific reforms. On the global scene, you will be encouraging support for the Arab world’s initiative,” the king said.
The WEF conference, which is held here for the third year in a row, has “Seizing the Moment” as this year’s theme.
Aside from helping Arab countries in working out political, economic and education reforms, leaders of the world’s business, politics and civil society will tackle other issues including challenges facing the new government in Iraq, the intrinsic linkage between global and Middle East security, terrorism and means of spurring growth in the region.
“It is truly time to seize the moment. Never has there been greater opportunity for progress. Never has there been a greater sense of agreement that the future is in hour hands,” Abdallah said.
He urged leaders to build on an initiative developed at last year’s forum to push for a package of comprehensive reform, including good governance, education, and economic growth, in the Arab world by 2010.
“Vision 2010 is no academic exercise. It is an effort for the whole Middle East to create its own positive change... now it is up to you,” he said.
The Jordanian monarch urged regional leaders to unite their efforts and accelerate the pace of reform in the Middle East ahead of a G-8 summit of the world’s most industrialized nations expected to be held in less than two months.
The summit, he said, “is expected to issue a statement supporting home-grown Middle East reform, a statement that can be an important bridge between Arab and Western views”.
Among those attending the conference are Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei, Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres and US first lady Laura Bush.
Mrs. Bush will address the forum today “to share a message of hope and optimism about freedom in the Middle East... and the importance of empowering women,” the US Embassy said in a statement.
“The real purpose of the speech is to talk about how women want the same things that men do,” she told Fox News television on Thursday.
“They want to have a place in society, they want to be able to be educated, they want to make sure their children are educated. They want to be advocates for their children and their families,” she added in the interview.
