WASHINGTON, May 24 (UPI) -- President Bush has invited the leaders of five Muslim states to meet with G-8 leaders June 9 at Sea Island, Georgia, the White House said Monday.
All five -- Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Jordan, and Yemen -- are key U.S. allies in the war against terror.
"He looks forward to a discussion of how the G-8 can support political, economic, and social freedom in the greater Middle East," the White House said in a statement. "The President hopes that these leaders will discuss their efforts to pursue democracy and reform in their countries."
The statement said Bush anticipates the G-8 will respond to calls for reform from the region with offers of concrete support that will help reformers implement their plans.
The summit, scheduled June 8-10, is part of the Bush administration's efforts to involve other industrialized nations in encouraging political and economic reforms in the Islamic world. The administration hopes such reforms would discourage terrorist forces in those societies.
A state of emergency went into effect Monday in six coastal Georgia counties as part of the security measurers for the G-8 summit.
