WASHINGTON, May 7 (UPI) -- Secretary of State Colin Powell will visit Jordan next for the World Economic Forum meetings, the State Department said Friday.
The forum is sponsoring a three-day conference next week in Jordan to set goals for economic and political reforms in the Middle East. Powell will be in the Jordanian capital, Amman, May 15 and 16.
The forum will also debate proposals for the reconstruction of Iraq and for reviving the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
The forum held its first regional conference in Casablanca in 1994 as part of the Oslo peace process for the Middle East. But later, it stopped the meetings as the peace process faltered.
The meetings resumed last year as a new U.S. plan revived hopes for peace. Powell attended last year's meeting as well.
After his talks with Jordan's King Abdullah, President George W. Bush said Thursday the meeting will hold important discussions on issues of economic development and progress in the Middle East.
"It'll also give him (Powell) the opportunity to talk with the Palestinians, with Arab leaders ... about developments in the region, Iraq, Middle East peace, reform efforts," said State Department spokesman Richard Boucher.
