Amman, Jordan
October 29, 1995
Your Majesty,
Your Highness,
Mr. Prime Minister,
Honored Guests,
Ladies and Gentleman,
I arrived here one hour ago from Jerusalem and will return home in a few hours. A mere 20-minute flight separates Amman from Jerusalem. A mere 20 minutes -- and 48 years. Historians will ask one day if and why it was necessary to wait 48 years in order to travel those 20 minutes. We are here today, in Amman, to try to make up for the lost time and the lingering pain, and to work together to beat the clock ticking away on our common problems. So far we have invested much blood, much time and much money in a product which may have been essential to our national existence, but of little benefit to our citizens. We invested in war.
Today and from here on, we are committed to invest in peace.
There are serious barriers ahead of us. We must overcome, on both sides, psychological barriers, and generations of hostility. But in the drowsy Middle East, where everything moves at a slow pace, we will hurry to make up for lost time. The world is not waiting for us, it is moving ahead. In today's economic reality remaining in one place is a huge disadvantage. All of us here today are at the starting line. We have heard the starting gun, and we are off and running.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Peace in the Middle East demands that we think differently, talk differently and act differently. From now on, all our efforts, actions, plans, all our words must concentrate on the economy and on the quality of life. We owe this to the citizens of the countries which we represent here. A new life. To struggle against illiteracy and poverty. To overcome the problems of water, a problem common to the entire Middle East. To produce, to sell, to market and to profit. No one will come here because of our winning smiles; they all want to make money.
There were cynics who scoffed that after the final handshakes of the Casablanca Conference the dust would once again settle on the Middle East But, the hundreds of representatives of large corporations and multinationals which have invested in this area in the last year and which are present here today, are the proof that the process which was started in Casablanca was a success.
The four main parties to the peace process -- Jordan, Egypt, the Palestinians and Israel -- have demonstrated extraordinary maturity and cooperation toward erasing the scars of an entire century by creating three regional institutions in the last year: the Regional Bank, Regional Business Council and the Regional Tourism Council. From the podium at Casablanca we called for their establishment and a mere one year later the governments of the region and the business community can point to their establishment as a major vehicle to intensify mutual cooperation in the area. To the representatives of private industry: your presence here is both proof of your faith in the hidden economic potential of this region, and of your confidence that it is profitable to do business here.
Last year's Casablanca Conference was very significant, but it was only a first step. The Amman Summit itself and more important, the ensuing contacts, agreements and the focus of the international community on the region, constitute a further giant leap for the people of the Middle East.
Israel brings to this summit its desire and commitment to play a constructive and cooperative role in this arena. Since Casablanca, Israel and its neighbors have already initiated dozens of development projects in such diverse fields as water, transportation, agriculture, environment, energy, among others, thereby slowly but surely weaving a fabric of coexistence and cooperation, a fabric resistant to the pressures, skepticism and outright sabotage which attempt to disrupt and derail the peace process.
Regional economic development, however, entails far more than the commitment and good will of the parties directly involved. The resources of the region are insufficient to meet the challenges before us. Regrettably, the region has been able to raise only three percent of the international funds earmarked for economic development.
We must remember that in the last year alone, there are an additional four million mouths to feed in our region. We must provide housing for their families, jobs for their parents, schools and clinics for their brothers and sisters. This is a very heavy burden.
Toward this end, we need the participation and cooperation of numerous parties -- both within the region and beyond -- from governments, local business communities, and outside partners. The international public sector will play a cardinal role through financial involvement, while the private sector will enjoy unique business opportunities. Planning, engineering, construction, capital equipment, debt financing, equity financing and professional services are all coming into demand.
With increased budgets, more attention, more leadership and more entrepreneurial capabilities channeled to economic development, the region will flourish, and the Middle East may, should and will become one of the most viable and prosperous regions in the world, achieving once again its former prominence and status.
With your permission I would like to thank His Majesty, King Hussein the First of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, his brother The Crown Prince Hassan, the Prime Minister of Jordan and its ministers, for their cordial hospitality in the spirit of our common forefather Abraham, and the residents and citizens of Jordan for their warm welcome.
Let us join forces, each of us in our specific field of expertise, roll up our sleeves and get down to work. Let us leave this conference in three days' time with something concrete. Let the Amman Summit go down in history as a major milestone of progress in the region and the entire world. Now is the time to fulfill the prophecy and the dream of millions throughout the ages: To turn swords into ploughshares.
Thank you.