SAVANNAH, Ga., June 9 (UPI) -- The Group of Eight top industrialized nations unveiled a plan Wednesday to introduce political reforms in the broader Middle East, emphasizing the need to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict through financial incentives and dialogue with both governments and civil society.
The plan, which is called the Partnership for Progress and a Common Future with the Region of the Broader Middle East and North Africa, stresses that all reforms must be from within the region and will not be imposed from outside. This was a key concern of Arab nations when details of the plan were leaked to the media earlier this year.
The G8 said the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian and the Arab-Israeli conflicts were essential to stability in the region. There was a strong Arab demand to emphasize the importance of a resolution to the conflict in reforming the Middle East.
"The resolution of long-lasting, often bitter, disputes, especially the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, is an important element of progress in the region," the G8 said in a statement. "At the same time, regional conflicts must not be an obstacle for reforms. Indeed, reforms may make a significant contribution toward resolving them."
The G8 backed the resumption of talks between the two sides as detailed by the "road map" for peace in the region, which calls for mutual confidence-building measures, culminating in an independent Palestinian state and peace and security for Israel.
The issue of reforms was discussed with the leaders of Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Tunisia, Turkey and Yemen at a lunch Wednesday. Notable absentees included Egypt and Saudi Arabia, two key U.S. allies in the region. Both nations were miffed at the idea that reforms could be imposed upon them.
Opposition to the plan was strong when President Bush announced the initiative late last year. They became stronger across the Arab world when details were leaked to al-Hayat, a London-based Arabic newspaper, earlier this year. The Bush administration spent the next few months trying to assure Arab governments that the plan would not seek to impose reform on them.
The plan emphasizes the need for homegrown reform and points out that reform cannot be introduced from outside.
"Each country is unique and their diversity should be respected. Our engagement must respond to local conditions and be based on local ownership," the G8 said. "Each society will reach its own conclusions about the pace and scope of change. Yet distinctiveness, important as it is, must not be exploited to prevent reform."
A senior U.S. administration official quoted Bush as telling the leaders from the region at lunch, "You will write your history; we will help."
The G8 also pledged to aid the electoral process in Iraq. Voting is scheduled for January until which time an interim government will rule the country. Bush was given a boost Tuesday when the U.N. Security Council voted unanimously to grant sovereignty to the interim government and backed an international force to maintain security in the country.
The G8 nations believe a reform of the region would lead to greater international stability. Their plan calls for regular meetings -- the first to be in the fall -- on reform between G8 and regional ministers. Parallel meetings will be with business and civic leaders. Democracy and civil-society groups from G8, regional and other countries will meet to share information. The G8 will also promote microfinance schemes, primarily to women, to help some 2 million entrepreneurs over the next five years. The bloc will also try to halve illiteracy over the next decade by training some 100,000 teachers by 2009.
Some 250,000 young entrepreneurs, especially women, will be trained under the plan. The International Finance Corp. will invest $100 million in small and medium-sized enterprises in the region. The region's business climate will be improved and the work of development institutions and international financial institutions will be coordinated.
The statement also reiterates support toward recent Arab initiatives toward reform. Their opposition to the plan notwithstanding, Arab governments, in regional forums, have acknowledged the need for change in the region. At the Arab League summit last month they said they were determined to "firmly establish the basis for democracy." Regional civic groups and business leaders have concurred.
"We welcome the desire and commitment to continue reform and modernization expressed by leaders in the region," the G8 said. "The initiatives herein offer a broad range of opportunities from which governments, business, and civil society in the region can draw support as they choose."
The G8 countries are Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States.
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