[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 135 (Saturday, November 20, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2127]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       THE FIRST ``FORUM FOR THE FUTURE'' WILL BE HELD IN MOROCCO

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                          HON. JOHN S. TANNER

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                      Saturday, November 20, 2004

  Mr. TANNER. Mr. Speaker, ministerial-level representatives from at 
least 30 countries, including the United States, will gather three 
weeks from now in Rabat, Morocco for the first-ever ``Forum for the 
Future'' international conference on reform and development in the 
Middle East and North Africa. Parallel discussions will also be held 
between representatives of civil society and the business sectors from 
within these countries.
  The ``Forum for the Future'' was established by the G-8 summit 
meeting in Sea Island, Georgia this past June as a permanent mechanism 
whereby the G-8 countries will engage in dialogue on political, 
economic, and social reform with the countries of North Africa and the 
broader Middle East.
  In the words of the communique issued by the G-8 leaders on June 9, 
2004, the ``Forum for the Future . . . will root our efforts in an open 
and enduring dialogue . . . the Forum will serve as a vehicle for 
listening to the needs of the region, and ensuring that the efforts we 
make collectively respond to those concerns.''
  Indeed, Mr. Speaker, those ``concerns'' form an enormous agenda for 
this initial meeting in Morocco, as well as for all subsequent 
sessions.
  In the political sphere, the Forum aims to promote progress in the 
Middle East and North Africa toward the establishment of democracy and 
the rule of law, the protection of human rights and basic personal 
liberties, respect for pluralism and diversity, and the free exchange 
of ideas.
  On the economic front, the Forum seeks to address the desperate 
problem of unemployment, as well as to expand the private sector within 
the Middle East and North Africa by means of encouraging 
entrepreneurship, expanded trade and investment, protection of property 
rights, and the combating of corruption.
  Finally, on social policy, the Forum has targeted the problems of 
illiteracy and ignorance, by focusing on means by which educational 
standards can be raised and the accessibility to a good education can 
be broadened for men and women alike--that last point being especially 
crucial, as there are so many unresolved difficulties pertaining to the 
status of women which the Forum also wants to address.
  Mr. Speaker, it is particularly appropriate that Morocco should host 
this inaugural meeting of the ``Forum for the Future,'' because that 
country has been making great strides forward in all of these areas, 
and there is much that can be learned by studying the process of reform 
that is taking place there.
  When the G-8 leaders launched the ``Forum for the Future'' last June, 
their communique spoke of a ``partnership for progress and a common 
future'' with the countries and peoples of North Africa and the broader 
Middle East.
  Every Member who shares that goal--who believes that our own future 
and security as a nation may ultimately be dependent on the achievement 
of freedom, stability, and prosperity in a very troubled region--will 
want to thank Morocco for hosting this important international event, 
the ``Forum for the Future,'' on December 11, 2004. And we look forward 
to a successful first step in what the G-8 leaders themselves have 
described as ``a long-term effort . . . a generational commitment.''

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