For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
June 9, 2004
Middle East/N. Africa Fact Sheet
Fact Sheet: Broader Middle East and North Africa Initiative
"...[T]he United States has adopted a new policy, a forward
strategy of freedom in the Middle East. This strategy requires the
same persistence and energy and idealism we have shown before. And it
will yield the same results. As in Europe, as in Asia, as in every
region of the world, the advance of freedom leads to peace."
President George W. Bush November 6, 2003 Washington, D.C.
Presidential Action
Today, President Bush led the G-8 in establishing a historic
"Partnership for Progress and a Common Future" with the
Broader Middle East and North Africa to support efforts to advance
freedom, democracy, and prosperity in the region. The G-8 Leaders
met with Leaders of Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Jordan, Turkey,
Yemen, and the new President of Iraq to discuss the challenges facing
the region.
Calls for Reform: In November 2003, President Bush
announced a "forward strategy of freedom" to advance freedom and
democracy in the greater Middle East. Since then, the world has
witnessed a gathering momentum for reform in the region: business and
civil society leaders issued reform declarations at Aqaba, Sanaa, and
Alexandria, where they declared that "reform is necessary and
urgently needed." At the May 22-23 Arab League Summit, Arab
leaders declared their determination to "firmly establish the basis
for democracy."
"Partnership for Progress and a Common Future":
President Bush led the G-8 Leaders today in launching the historic
"Partnership for Progress and a Common Future" to support political,
economic, and social reform in the Broader Middle East and North
Africa. To that end, the G-8 agreed to: - Establish a
"Forum for the Future," which will bring together in one forum G-8
and regional foreign, economic, and other ministers for regular
discussions on reform, with business and civil society leaders
participating in parallel dialogues. The inaugural meeting of the
Forum will be held in the fall of 2004.
- Adopt a "Plan
of Support" that will offer assistance through new
initiatives:
- Democracy Assistance Dialogue, which
will bring together democracy foundations, civil society groups, and
governments from the G-8, the region, and other countries, to
promote and strengthen democratic institutions, coordinate and
share information on democracy programs, initiate new democracy
programs, and sponsor exchanges. Turkey, Yemen, and
Italy will co-sponsor the Democracy Assistance Dialogue and
co-host the first meeting in 2004.
- Microfinance
Initiative to help over two million entrepreneurs escape
poverty through microfinance loans over the next 5 years.
Jordan will host a Microfinance Best Practices Training
Center and Yemen will host the first microfinance pilot
project.
- Literacy Initiative to assist the
region's efforts to halve the illiteracy rate over the next decade,
including by training a corps of 100,000 teachers by 2009.
Afghanistan and Algeria will co-sponsor this
initiative.
- Business and Entrepreneurship Training
initiative to help as many as 250,000 young entrepreneurs,
especially women, expand their employment opportunities.
Bahrain and Morocco will co-sponsor this
initiative.
- Private Enterprise Development Facility at
the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to invest $100 million
to finance small and medium-sized enterprises;
- Network of
Funds to coordinate the work of development institutions and
international financial institutions working in the region; and
- Task Force on Investment to assist the region's efforts to
improve the business climate.
The Plan of Support also commits the G-8 to work in partnership
with the region's governments, business leaders, and civil society to
"intensify and expand" existing programs, focusing on:
promoting democracy; improving education; and creating jobs
and economic growth.
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