Political and economic freedom go hand-in-hand, Powell
Regional-USA, Politics, 12/11/2004

US Secretary of state, Colin Powell, highlighted on Saturday the necessity of economic and political freedom in countries of the region, saying they "go hand-in-hand."

"Now is not the time to argue about the pace of democratic reform, or whether economic reform must precede political reform," said Powell who was speaking before the Forum for the Future that opened Saturday at the level of Foreign and Finance Ministers, and was co-chaired by Powell and his Moroccan peer, Mohamed Benaissa.

"Increasing opportunities for all citizens --especially women-- should not be put on hold to deal with other concerns," he insisted, underlining that an "effective and sustainable change can only come from within."

"We also see that countries with active political participation by all people tend to enjoy greater investment, economic growth and educational excellence. In short, political and economic freedom go hand-in-hand."

On the meeting of Rabat, he expressed gratefulness to King Mohammed VI and the Moroccan government for "making this event possible." Powell highlighted the importance of the Forum where representatives of the Broader Middle East and North Africa region (BMENA) have come together for a common cause with the support of their partners from the group of 8 to "address challenges and opportunities of building a future full of hope."

The US official recalled that president Bush underscored during the G8 summit in Sea Island the need to "help reformers of the Middle east as they work for freedom and strive to build a community of peaceful, democratic nations."

He cited as an example "Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Yemen."

Powell also recalled the meeting of Finance ministers in Washington last October to "shape the economic work of the Forum," as well as the meeting last November in Rome of Foreign ministers of the Democracy Assistance Dialogue (Italy, Turkey and Yemen) who developed a framework to address "far-reaching issues such as elections, the rule of law, free media, women in democracy and the role of the civil society."

"Today, we will advance initiatives to finance and provide training for small business and micro-enterprise and to promote literacy, especially for women and girls," said Powell, highlighting the need for "learning from each others' experiences in order to give young people the tools necessary for global citizenship."

The American secretary of state voiced confidence as to the "creativity and talent of the peoples of the region," saying "we must rely on this shared confidence to make participation in public and political life more inclusive in every country."

On international questions, he hailed the inauguration of president Karzai, and raised the question of Iraq, pointing out that "all of us have a major stake in the historic elections that will take place in Iraq at the end of January."

Of Palestinian elections he said his country is committed "to working actively with Palestinians and Israelis as they move forward along the roadmap."

Concerning terrorism, he insisted on the need to "address the causes of despair and frustration that extremists exploit for their own ends."

Previous Stories:
  Forum for the Future to seek support, not to impose reforms in the region, US official   (12/1/2004)
  US is still committed to Mideast peace, Boucher   (11/30/2004)
  Al-Zawaheri threatens Washington, warns against repeating Baghdad 's scenario   (11/30/2004)

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