Preparatory Meetings of the Forum for the Future

Fact Sheet
Bureaus of Near Eastern Affairs, South Asian Affairs, European Affairs and Economic Affairs
September 17, 2004

More than 20 G-8 and BMENA Foreign Ministers and other representatives will meet in New York September 23-24 to attend preparatory meetings for the Forum for the Future. The Forum for the Future is the centerpiece of the "Partnership for Progress and a Common Future with the Region of the Broader Middle East and North Africa" launched by President Bush and the other G-8 leaders at their Sea Island Summit in June 2004. This meeting will be followed on October 1 by a meeting of G-8/BMENA Finance Ministers in Washington.

Governments, civil society, business leaders and citizens throughout the Broader Middle East and North Africa (BMENA) are voicing support for reforms. These calls are embodied in recent declarations such as the Tunis Declaration issued at the 17^th session of the Arab League Summit on May 22-23, the "Platform for Democratic Governance in the Islamic World" issued by the Congress of Democrats from the Islamic World in Istanbul on April 14, 2004, the Alexandria Statement "Issues of Reform in the Arab World," and the statement of Arab business leaders made in Aqaba in December 2003.

Background: The G-8 countries responded to the calls for reform from the BMENA region at their Sea Island Summit in Georgia on June 9, 2004. In announcing the BMENA partnership and a Plan of Support for Reform, President Bush stated, "the G-8 nations and Turkey have united around a common agenda to use the energies and resources of our nations to support the momentum of freedom in the nations of the Middle East and North Africa … This partnership will seek to advance the universal values of human dignity, freedom, democracy, the rule of law, economic opportunity and social justice." Leaders of seven countries from the region (Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Turkey and Yemen) attended the Sea Island Summit and agreed to lead individual initiatives established in the Plan of Support.

The Forum for the Future will provide a collaborative vehicle at ministerial level for expanding G-8 engagement in support of the region’s reform efforts, in particular toward the enhancement of democracy and civic participation, rule of law, human rights and open market economy. The discussions will be closely linked with parallel dialogues in which regional civil society and business representatives will regularly present to G-8 and regional governments opportunities to support indigenous democratic, economic, and educational reforms. The open exchange of ideas and wide representation of diverse views will ensure that efforts respond effectively to the concerns of people in the region.

Historic "Partnership for Progress and a Common Future with the Broader Middle East and North Africa"

The preparatory meeting will review progress on the various BMENA initiatives announced at Sea Island.

• A Forum for the Future that brings together regional and G-8 foreign, economic and other ministers, as well as civil society and business leaders, for an on-going dialogue on reforms to promote democracy, rule of law, human rights, and open market economy reforms.
• A microfinance initiative with the goal of assisting two million potential entrepreneurs – especially women – pull themselves out of poverty over five years through microfinance loans. The initiative, to which the World Bank will render assistance, is co-sponsored by Jordan and Yemen.
• A literacy initiative, co-sponsored with Algeria and Afghanistan, to enhance support for the region’s efforts to improve literacy skills to an additional 20 million people by 2015.
  An entrepreneurship initiative co-sponsored by Bahrain and Morocco that supports business, entrepreneurship and vocational training and that provides 250,000 young people, especially women, employment opportunities through hands-on entrepreneurial training.
• A Democracy Assistance Dialogue, led by Turkey, Yemen and Italy that brings together G-8 and regional governments, and civil society groups to share information and lessons learned on democracy programs in the region.
• A new Private Enterprise Development Facility at the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to improve the region’s business and investment climate and increase the financing options for the region’s small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs).
• A regional "Network of Funds" that would bring together representatives from development institutions based in the region and from international financial institutions to coordinate existing programs.
• A Task Force on Investment, comprised of private sector business representatives, from the G-8 and the region, would assist and advise the region on reform measures to improve the investment climate, including those under the OECD Investment Initiative. In this way, the region can better prioritize reforms in areas that are truly impediments to business and help support economic diversification and job growth.