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41. Foreign Ministry Statement on Jordan River Valley Conference in
Amman, 25 April 1995.
The Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty dealt extensively with the development of
the Jordan River valley, called the Valley of Peace. In order to translate
this lofty vision into reality, high-level Israeli, Jordanian and American
delegates met in Amman to try and define projects to infuse life into the
dream. Once again, all the speakers reiterated their belief that without
economic development, there will not be political stability. Text:
Yesterday (Monday), 25.4.95, Foreign Minister Shimon Peres and Jordanian
Crown Prince Hassan opened a conference on the development of the Jordan
River Valley. Participating in the Amman meeting were Jordanian, Israeli
and American delegations, as well as representatives of companies from the
three countries. Peres began his remarks by expressing sorrow over the
terrorist attack in Oklahoma and over the fate of the innocent victims. He
added that the Middle East is advancing toward comprehensive peace - and
that we will not stop until we achieve peace with Syria and Lebanon,
despite the difficulties, since all three countries have no better option
than peace. Peres noted that "we are making efforts toward broad
cooperation because we favor improved standards of living for all
residents of the region. We are fighting poverty and illiteracy.
Meanwhile, we are threatened by extremist fundamentalism, which promises a
better life for the poor - in the next world, while demonstrating a
complete lack of concern for human life in this world."
Peres asked the business representatives at the conference to take the
initiative in developing the Jordan River Valley, but also to take
collective responsibility for improving economic conditions. Peres said
that, here, they have the ability to create thousands of new consumers and
products that will guarantee them economic profits. Peres added that the
Governments of Jordan and Israel, with the help of the United States, will
assist in creating political stability in order to offer economic support
for companies operating in the region. "We want to make the desert a
prosperous area for agriculture, industry and tourism. We want to
transform the border from a confrontation line into one which represents
the new region and cooperation between states. We want to build one shared
railway line instead of two, one shared harbor instead of two and one
shared airport instead of two."
Crown Prince Hassan began his remarks by saying that the motivating force
behind Jordan River Valley development is Shimon Peres, whose dream is now
taking shape and being realized. The Crown Prince called on firms to
define projects and set timetables for their implementation; in this, they
are guaranteed Jordan's support.
Afterwards, Foreign Minister Peres met with King Hussein and Crown Prince
Hassan for a three-hour lunch meeting.
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