AMMAN, 3 March 2004 — Jordan’s Foreign Minister Marwan Moasher told a US envoy visiting Egypt yesterday to explain Washington’s ideas for reform that political and economic changes must come from within the region, Jordan’s Petra news agency said.
“Any reforms that are achieved must come from inside the region and be based on our Arab and Islamic civilization and our Islamic religion,” Moasher told visiting US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Marc Grossman, Petra said. Grossman arrived earlier yesterday in Cairo coming from Morocco as part of a tour that will also take him to Jordan and Bahrain to advance the US so-called “Greater Middle East Initiative”. He will also visit Turkey.
Washington hopes to launch the scheme, which it says will bolster democracy in the Middle East, during a summit of the Group of Eight (G8) industrialized nations in June.
Several Arab countries, including Egypt and Saudi Arabia, have criticized the initiative, fearing Washington wants to impose its own cultural models on the region.
“Achieving stability, peace and security in the region is necessary to create the right climate to achieving development and progress in the region in the economic, social and political fields,” Moasher told Grossman, Petra said. Moasher also insisted that efforts should concentrate on ending Israeli occupation of Arab territory and finding a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
