By Kathryn McConnell
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- The United States, backed by other major industrialized nations, will call for a broad multilateral initiative to help countries in the Middle East in areas such as education, job creation and development, says Under Secretary of State Alan Larson.

The initiative, to be called the Forum for the Future, will be proposed during the current U.N. General Assembly meeting in talks scheduled for September 22-24 with diplomats and representatives of businesses and civil society, Larson said in an interview aired September 17 by the Arabic-language Radio Sawa and Alhurra television station.

The 59th session of the U.N. General Assembly began September 14 in New York.

The proposal to be introduced by the United States on behalf of the Group of 8 (G8) nations will call for an ongoing public-private forum to guide the development of programs and strategies to help countries in the Middle East provide a better quality of life for their citizens, Larson said.

The meetings in New York "are intended to be the beginning of a process that can greatly improve the lives of ordinary people in the Middle East," Larson said. They are intended to be the "beginning of a partnership" that will focus on the things that matter the most to people, such as good education opportunities, strong government institutions and good job opportunities, he said.

The effort will be a follow-up action to a pledge made by the G8 at its annual summit in June to help countries in the Middle East achieve economic growth and political reforms, Larson said. The United States currently chairs the G8, which includes Canada, France, Germany Italy, Japan, Russia and the United Kingdom.

Larson said since the June meeting at Sea Island, Georgia, $50 million of a targeted $100 million has been raised to support an International Finance Corporation (IFC) regional facility to promote small business development. The IFC, part of the World Bank, supports business development and investment in emerging economies.

The under secretary said people in the Middle East have expressed strong interest in adopting governmental reforms that will result in greater ease in doing business in the region and create jobs. He said already efforts are underway in the region to provide more opportunities for business growth.

For instance, he said, Jordan and Yemen have provided leadership in developing microfinance programs. Other examples are Morocco and Bahrain, which have developed initiatives to provide more business education and training to entrepreneurs, he said.

In other Middle East efforts, Larson said, the United States is working with Saudi Arabia to help the country gain entry to the World Trade Organization (WTO). Accession into the world trade system would help the country diversify its exports and provide more jobs to its rising generation of young workers, he said.

The United States also is leading an effort to help the Palestinian Authority institutionalize economic reforms that will allow Palestinians to have more "economic vitality" and access to better services such as water and electricity, Larson said.

Another U.S. Middle East focus is to ensure the flow of aid money to Iraq and that funds are being used effectively, he said.

The under secretary pointed to a follow-up donors conference to be held in October in Tokyo that will discuss how to accelerate the Iraq reconstruction money pledged at an Iraq donors conference in Madrid in 2003.

The United States and other G8 members in June also agreed to enter into negotiations later in 2004 on a sustainable debt reduction plan for Iraq that would be based on an International Monetary Fund (IMF) assessment, Larson said.