OPENING REMARKS BY MR. FAYEZ TARAWNEH
HEAD OF THE JORDANIAN DELEGATION TO THE ISRAEL-JORDAN PEACE TALKS
JULY 18, 1994
Peace. It is in pursuit of this lofty aim, that we come here today to
commence in good faith negotiations in order to find mutually satisfactory
solutions to some important items on our agenda.
It is our expectation that the satisfactory results of the negotiations and
accepted agreements will culminate in a treaty of peace that delineates
carefully our rights, and duties under conditions of peace. By doing so, we
minimize the areas of future fiction and disputes, while contributing to the
establishment of a desirable peace, with tangible results, that can be
enjoyed by all people in our regions.
Our meeting today, also represents a delicate balance between the need to
address all questions on the agenda, on the one hand, and on the other the
desirability of making immediate progress on some of those issues. We shall,
of course, honor our committments and implement them in good faith.
Although the process of peacebuilding is arduous, given the complexity of
some of the issues involved, we can take comfort in the fact that we do not
start from scratch. We have agreement on a common agenda and in the last
meeting of the trilateral commission in Washington, we were able to find the
last common subagenda on borders and other territorial matters, on security,
and on water.
With respect to borders, while maintaining the integrity and the totality of
the issue, we think our work will be considerably facilitated if we
concentrate on the area where the proposed road is contemplated. We could
begin by discussing the modalities for the preparation of joint maps. This
could be followed or as necessary accompanied by a joint physical survey of
the area in question. May we express the confidant hope that the experience
gained from the work of the subcommission on borders will be useful for the
work of other subcommissions and will, therefore, facilitate our work.
At the same time, we are fortunate in that the sub-agenda on water, energy
and environment has been finalized. And we propose that we should enter
immediately into substantive negotiations on these important items.
Similary, work on the security sub-commission should commence. We are glad
to know that the sub-agenda for the subcommission on security was
satisfactorily finalized in our last meeting in Washington.
It is obvious, that there is a great deal of interdependence between the
work of the three subcommissions. We hope that we can establish a reasonably
flexible structure to ensure coordination under the umbrella commission to
avoid duplication of efforts and to arrive at an integrated solution. It is
equally obvious that a similar degree of interdependance exists within the
topics we are now dealing with, and others on the common agenda which will
be negotiated once progress has been achieved on our immediate task. We also
agree that negotiations on economic matters will continue in order to
prepare for future bilateral cooperation.
As our meeting begins, we should be motivated to live up to the forthcoming
historical responsibilities. In a week, his majesty King Hussein will meet
in Washington with the Prime Minister of Israel, Mr. Yitzhak Rabin as guests
of the President of the United States of America, Bill Clinton. The United
States Congress will host both leaders as an indication of the committment
and dedication of the American people and administration to the cause of
peace.
In addition, the trilateral meetings which are scheduled to meet the day
after tomorrow shall witness another historical event where the foreign
ministers of Jordan, the United States, and Israel will meet. The political
will to construct lasting peace as embodied in these meetings should
underscore our resolve to see to it that the outcome is practical
achievement and is commensurate to the hopes and aspirations of our people.
Lastly, I should like to reiterate my words of welcome. Our government will
not spare any efforts to create conditions conducive to the comfort and
well-being of all participants in this meeting. We hope that our location,
which bears testimony to the imperatives of the geographic proximity and
interdependance, will inspire us to arrive at tangible results so that
fruits of our common endeavors may be felt by ordinary men and women in our
long-suffering region.
Thank you very much.