US Under Secretary to visit Morocco part of 'Greater Middle East Initiative', spokesman
Morocco-USA, Politics, 3/1/2004

US Under-Secretary of State Marc Grossman, is expected on Monday in Tangiers (Northern Morocco) part of a tour to several Arab states to 'pursue dialogue with Governments and representatives of the region' on President George W. Bush's initiative of the "Greater Middle East," said, in Washington Friday, State department Spokesman Richard Boucher.

"In support of the President's Initiative in the Greater Middle East to continue our dialogue with governments and leaders in the region, and to seek ideas on how the U.S. and our partners can support reform in the region," Under Secretary for Political Affairs Marc Grossman will travel to the Middle East and then to Europe next week. He'll be going to Jordan, Egypt, Morocco and Bahrain, and then on to Europe, Turkey and Brussels, said Boucher.

"The President articulated a vision for supporting the transformation of a Greater Middle East through freedom-based reform and speeches to the National Endowment for Democracy on November 6th of last year and again in London on November 19th,"he went on.

Asked to elaborate on the European part of this mission, Boucher said: "We've had a number of discussions with European friends and allies (..). So we have, indeed, kept in close touch with our European partners about this. They have a number of important programs that address this region of the world to try to encourage more open trading, try to encourage growth of civil society and things like that. We have a number of programs -- the Middle East Partnership Initiative, our Middle East trade initiatives -- again, to open up free trade and opportunity for people in the region. And we also see the potential for NATO to be involved in perhaps some aspects of developing security relationships."

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