23-NOV-1993
THE MULTILATERAL MIDDLE EAST PEACE TALKS
UPDATE FOLLOWING THE FOURTH ROUND
OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 1993
INTRODUCTION:
The fourth round of the multilateral track of the Middle East peace
talks has just been concluded. These negotiations, an integral part of
the peace process launched in Madrid in October 1991, comprise five
working groups dealing with a variety of issues of common regional
concern environment, arms control and regional security, refugees,
water, and economic development.
This latest round was the first held since the breakthrough in the
bilateral talks, marked by the Declaration of Principles between Israel
and the PLO signed in Washington on September 13, 1993, and the
Israel-Jordan Common Agenda signed the following day. As such, the
round was marked by a new spirit of pragmatism and productive
discussion.
At the same time, Israel regrets the continued absence of Lebanon and
Syria from the multilateral talks, and feels that their participation
in the various working groups is essential to the peace process
underway.
The following is a summary of the progress achieved in each working
group:
I. WATER (Beijing, October 26-29, 1993)
Throughout the three days of talks in Beijing, intensive negotiations
were held between the parties, leading to significant progress in many
areas. Among the achievements were:
- An Israeli proposal to share its cloud-seeding expertise with the
states of the region.
- A Jordanian proposal to formulate a 'Middle East Water Convention'
defining principles of regional cooperation.
- A plenary decision to establish a comprehensive training plan for
regional water personnel.
- A decision to establish a regional database to facilitate Middle East
water cooperation.
- A decision to carry out intersessional seminars for regional experts
on weather forecasting, database standardization and river basins.
- A decision to initiate a Jordan River modeling project to accurately
map the river's sources.
This session's progress was noteworthy, as was Oman's offer to host the
next session of water talks. The increased involvement of the Gulf
states in the peace process is, in Israel's view, a most encouraging
development.
II. ARMS CONTROL AND REGIONAL SECURITY (Moscow, November 3-4, 1993)
This working group reviewed the intersessional activities which took
place since the previous plenary meeting in May 1993, and planned its
upcoming work program. The participants noted that the group is making
concrete progress toward the goals of arms control and regional
security in the Middle East. This fourth session moved the group's
activities into a new, more active stage, increasing the frequency and
focus of the discussions.
In this round, the group endorsed the following activities:
- A European offer to make available to the parties the communications
network infrastructure of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in
Europe (CSCE) located in the Hague, in order to support the work of the
group.
- A Russian offer to assist in the development of an arms control data
bank for the parties.
- The formation of two activity 'baskets' to expedite the
intersessional work of the Arms Control group: The first 'basket'
will include workshops and follow-up activities regarding
communications, information exchange and maritime measures. The
second 'basket' will focus on long-term objectives, verification, the
establishment of a conflict-prevention center, confidence- and
security-building measures, and other related activities.
- An agreement to pursue further work in the realm of arms control
verification, including work on verification models, demonstrations and
visits to verification facilities.
The members of the Arms Control and Regional Security working group
recognized the importance of the participation of all regional states
in the arms control effort and in the activities of the working group,
as indicative of their support for the Middle East peace talks.
III. REFUGEES (Tunis, October 12-14, 1993)
At this working group session the first such session to take place
in an Arab country an understanding was reached on the appropriate
frameworks for discussing various aspects of the refugee problem, in
accordance with the terms of the Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles
and the Israel-Jordan Common Agenda signed in September 1993, as
follows:
- The question of the 1948 refugees will be discussed within the
framework of the permanent status negotiations between Israel and the
Palestinians.
- Modalities for the admission of persons displaced from the West Bank
and Gaza in 1967 will be decided by an
Israeli-Palestinian-Jordanian-Egyptian committee.
- The readmission of former Palestinian residents of the territories
who overstayed their permits abroad will be discussed in the bilateral
negotiations with Jordan.
The above understanding enabled the working group to focus on the
humanitarian aspects of the refugee issue family reunification and
improved living conditions. In this context, Israel agreed to approve
2,000 cases of family reunifications annually, thus according permanent
resident status to an additional 6,000 persons who entered the
territories as visitors.
In a further humanitarian act, Israel has permitted a number of
individuals deported in the early 1970's due to prior terrorist
activities, to return to the territories, together with their families.
In addition, criteria and modalities for the release of Palestinian
prisoners and detainees are currently being discussed in the framework
of the Israel-PLO negotiations on Gaza/Jericho.
IV. REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (Copenhagen, November 8-9, 1993)
As in the other working groups, the group on Regional Economic
Development also engaged in matters of substance during this round of
talks. All participating states (including 14 Arab countries) adopted
the 'Copenhagen Action Plan', which outlines 35 ventures (projects,
workshops and feasibility studies) in ten different fields
(communications, transportation, energy, tourism, agriculture,
financial markets and investment, trade, training, regional networks
and bibliography).
Among the various projects, the following are most noteworthy:
- A feasibility study for an Aqaba-Eilat-Egypt highway.
- An engineering study for an Amman-Jericho-Jerusalem highway.
- A feasibility study for an Egypt-Gaza gas pipeline.
- A Japanese initiative for a tourism working group to be held in
Cairo in February 1994.
- A workshop for the private sector on the business, legal and
administrative situation in the region.
- A British-sponsored conference on financial markets.
- A survey on linking the electricity grids in the region.
- A survey of existing studies on hydroelectric power, a Dead Sea -
Red Sea canal, and a Dead Sea - Mediterranean canal.
- The establishment of a network for cooperation among universities,
cities and media.
- A symposium on education in the region.
Prior to the next meeting, official progress reports will be submitted
on the various projects and surveys.
In the course of the meeting, the participants agreed to cooperate to
remove the bureaucratic restrictions impeding private enterprise in
each state, especially in the areas of trade and tourism.
Morocco and Germany both offered to host the next meeting of the
working group on regional economic development.
V. ENVIRONMENT (Cairo, November 15-16, 1993)
An increased sense of urgency was felt in the Environmental working
group to move toward the implementation of projects on the ground. An
atmoshpere of pragmatism and realism was felt in the group's
discussions. In this session, notable progress was made in the
following areas:
- Maritime Pollution: The group strongly supported a proposal to
establish a regional center for marine disaster and emergency
preparedness. As a first step, it was agreed to set up joint
Israeli-Jordanian-Egyptian emergency response facilities in the
northern half of the Gulf of Aqaba to deal with such common concerns as
oil spill contingency planning. The EC offered to provide funding for
such a project, which will begin as early as November/December 1993. In
addition, the EC is also pursuing a project for the integrated
management of the Eastern Mediterranean coastal area, including such
aspects as coastal zone planning.
- Environmental Management: Special attention was given to enhancing
environmental education and public awareness in the region. Israel
presented its plans for the upcoming 1994 Israeli 'Year of the
Environment', as a model for similar activities throughout the region.
Jordan proposed that a regional environmental education center be
established. Canada donated literature and educational material for
this purpose. In addition, the U.S. announced that it would co-sponsor,
together with Egypt, a workshop on environmental monitoring and quality
control. Also, many parties, including Austria, Canada, the EC, Japan,
the Netherlands, the U.S. and the UNDP offered to assist in the
establishment of a Palestinian Environmental Authority.
- Desertification: During the session, the World Bank presented a
proposal to control natural resource degradation in arid Middle East
areas. The members of the working group attached great importance to an
early launching of this effort. In this connection, Japan voiced its
readiness to contriburte $530,000 to further this project. Other
delegations also expressed a willingness to support the project.
- Water Quality, Sewage and Waste Management: In this area, a number of
projects were proposed. The U.S. announced its intention to assist in
carrying out demonstration projects in the region involving waste water
treatment facilities. Also, Italy proposed to hold a seminar on solid
waste management, in order to coordinate and integrate available
regional expertise. In addition, Japan proposed to hold a seminar on
industrial pollution control technologies early next year.
The members of the Environmental working group also voiced their desire
that the next session also be held in a regional venue.
CONCLUSION:
A significant change in the atmosphere of the multilateral talks
occurred in this fourth round. The discussions became much more
'project-oriented' and the multilateral activities now focus on
functional solutions to common problems. This change comes as the
result of the great progress made in the bilateral Middle East talks
in particular, the signing of the Israeli-Palestinian and Israel-Jordan
agreements in Washington in September.
Israel is encouraged by this serious and practical approach to regional
problem-solving, and hopes that this trend will continue and increase
in the coming sessions.
Also of significance is the growing use of regional venues for the
multilateral talks. Israel strongly feels that the conduct of Middle
East peace negotiations within the region itself is a positive
development. This trend sends a clear message to the people of the
region, that peace and a prosperous future are truly within reach.