June 19, 1994
FIFTH ROUND OF MULTILATERAL TALKS ON REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
(Communicated by Foreign Ministry Spokesman)
The fifth round of multilateral talks on regional economic development in
the Middle East ended last Thursday (June 16, 1994), in Rabat. The
summing-up communique welcomed the Cairo Agreement and called for
continued momentum on both the bilateral and multilateral tracks, and
welcomed Syria and Lebanon's interest in the working group's proceedings.
This round formulated, for the first time, the guidelines for close
cooperation between the countries of the region in the economic sphere,
with the intention being that these economies be open to each other. Among
other things, the document formulated by the participants calls for
removing obstacles preventing a more prominent role for the private
sector, and establishes that the free movement of people, goods, services,
capital and information within the region should be encouraged.
The working group decided to set up a permanent oversight committee, with
representatives from Israel, the PLO, Egypt and Jordan, under the auspices
of the European Union. This committee, which has already held its first
meeting, will coordinate the work being done in the various projects
between meetings of the full economic development committee.
The working group adopted an updated version of projects and decided to
promote them on the basis of activity in various economic sectors. Group
leaders reported on progress in the projects in their various spheres, and
presented the next stages to be undertaken in each of them. Among others,
regional programs are to be undertaken in the spheres of civil aviation,
tourism, integrating electric grids, veterinary services and public
health.
In addition, it was announced that a conference of businessmen would take
place in Marrakesh in early November 1994, to discuss cooperation between
government and the private sector in promoting regional economic
development. The conference was organized at the initiative of Foreign
Minister Peres and will be held under the patronage of King Hassan II of
Morocco. U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher is to be among the
participants.