U.S. official in Morocco for economic talks, discussion on MENA conference
Regional, Economics, 6/17/1998

U.S. State Department's senior official for global economic issues, Stuart Eizenstat, is expected this Wednesday in Morocco for a two-day official visit to Morocco, the U.S. Embassy in Rabat announced.

During his stay in Morocco, Eizenstat will hold talks with public and private sector officials on economic development, investment and trade exchange between Morocco and the USA.

The official has previously visited, Tunisia, Israel and the Gaza Strip on his current week-long regional tour.

During his stay in Tunisia, Eizenstat discussed with President Ben Ali a U.S. initiative to launch a U.S.-Maghreban Partnership.

The initiative, Eizenstat explained at a press conference in Tunis, revolves around establishing a permanent dialogue at the highest level between the USA and the Maghreban countries, encouraging these countries to lift barriers to ensure a better flow of trade exchange and materializing inter-Maghreban complementarity leading to better political relations.

The initiative gives priority to the private sector as an engine of development and economic progress, he added.

Eizenstat announced that Washington will host a ministerial meeting at the end of the year and that the U.S. administration will hold early next year in collaboration with the Maghreban countries, a regional conference on investment.

Touching on the stalled Middle-East peace process, Eizenstat said the USA is resolved to encourage moderate parties, whether within the Israelis or the Palestinians.

Relatedly, the London-based Arab Daily "Al-Hayat" reported on Tuesday that the U.S. official is trying to reach an accord with these countries on the venue for the coming Middle-East/North African Conference on Economic Development (MENA).

The Conference, launched in Casablanca, was then held in Amman, Cairo and Doha. The process sought by the conference came to failure due to Israel's refusal to go ahead with the peace accords already concluded with the Palestinians.

During his stay in Jerusalem, Eizenstat warned that the dire economic situation in the West Bank and Gaza may further erode public support for peace in the Middle-East if the situation there is not reversed.

"Israel has benefitted greatly from the peace process", he said in remarks at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. "But this has not been the case for the Palestinian economy. In fact, the opposite is the case".

Citing a range of statistics, Eizenstat said the Palestinian economy "has gone backward" since the signing of the Oslo accords in December 1993. "Simply put, Palestinians are earning less, spending less and growing even poorer," he said.

"The situation must be reversed quickly," Eizenstat said. "We are at risk of diminishing the constituency for peace, not only among the public at large, but increasingly, among the Palestinian business people who expected the peace process to deliver economic stability, normalcy and improved relations," he added.

Previous Stories:
  No Middle East - North Africa economic in 98   (4/28/1998)
  Mena: latest developments   (11/17/1997)
  World Bank calls for international conference without Israel   (10/31/1997)

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