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Text As Delivered
Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen: On behalf of President Clinton, I want to express my deep gratitude to President Mubarak and to the people of Egypt for hosting this third annual economic conference. I also want to express my enormous appreciation to the more than 1,500 business people, from over 70 countries, who are attending this conference. Their willingness to invest in a better future is what brings us together here today.
We have come to Cairo, to this city of greatness -- ancient and modern -- because we share a vision of a prosperous Middle East at peace. We share a conviction that if this vision is to be realized, the peace process must move forward in both its political and economic dimensions at the same time. And we share a commitment to deepen the partnership between governments and the private sector so that peace can endure and thrive.
Today the world can look to Cairo, to this economic conference, as a vote of confidence in the peace process -- a peace process that has already brought us so far. And we can once again thank President Mubarak for reminding the region and the world of the stake that we have in peace.
President Mubarak shares this great responsibility with other leaders of wisdom and good will. Two years ago, King Hassan convened the first Middle East and North Africa Economic Summit in Casablanca. There we opened up a whole new dimension of the peace process to complement the political negotiations launched in Madrid five years earlier. Last year, King Hussein brought us together in Amman to build new bridges of prosperity across old barriers of hostility.
It was also to the Economic Summit in Amman that Prime Minister Rabin made his last journey for peace. The Prime Minister spoke to the entire Middle East when he said this: "So far we have invested much blood, much time, and much money in a product which may have been essential for our national existences but of little benefit for our citizens. We invested in war. Today, and from here on, we are committed to invest in peace." Just one week later, sadly, tragically, the peace process lost one of its strongest champions.
There is no doubt that the peace process has been tested -- tested severely -- by the traumas in the last year since Prime Minister Rabin's assassination. But over the last year, and especially in recent weeks, the peace process has also demonstrated great resilience. Arabs and Israelis alike know what war means. They have already glimpsed the promise of peace. By looking back into the abyss, both Arabs and Israelis recognized the imperative of moving forward.
Both Palestinians and Israelis, like all the peoples of the region, have a fundamental self-interest in bringing this conflict to an end. They understand that this decades-long conflict can long be resolved in phases over time. They remain committed to resolve this conflict through the structure of the negotiations that they have built together. And they are coming to accept that without peace there can be no security, and without security there can be no peace.
In the wake of the recent violence, Israel and the Palestinians have pledged to uphold the agreements they have negotiated and carry out the commitments they have made. The current negotiations have been intensive and at times frustrating. But I believe that a final set of very specific understandings on Hebron is close at hand. And once those negotiations finally succeed, I urge the parties to move ahead with the same urgency to implement the remainder of the Interim Agreement.
For these and future negotiations to succeed, each side must go the extra mile to understand the needs of the other -- to take their requirements into account. Each side must accept that to succeed, there can be no winners and no losers. Each side must win and be seen to win -- or both sides will lose. Each side must recognize that it is not possible to make peace without taking risks -- but that maintaining the status quo poses even greater risks for their future.
Each side should also know this: the United States will continue to help them take those risks and support them along the hard, long journey to peace. Peace in the Middle East is a vital national interest of the United States. That is why President Clinton has made such a strong personal commitment to stand with the peace makers at every step of the way over the last four years. That is why the newly reelected President and the next Secretary of State will continue to make the advancement of the Middle East peace process a top priority over the next four years.
There are historic gains to preserve, gains on which the parties can build. There are two landmark agreements between Israel and the Palestinians -- and pathbreaking cooperation to fight terrorism and violence. There is the peace treaty between Israel and Jordan -- and a new set of diplomatic and commercial contacts between Israel and its Arab neighbors. There is the opportunity for a comprehensive peace that includes Syria and Lebanon -- a peace that must finally be achieved if this region is to enjoy real security. And there is, of course, the founding pillar of peace still firmly in place -- and that is the peace between Egypt and Israel.
We can see how far we have really come if we look at ourselves -- if we look at this economic conference. Despite all the setbacks and uncertainties of recent months, more and higher-level business representatives from around the world are here in Cairo than have ever before assembled at one time in the region. You recognize opportunity amidst the risk. And you are attracted by the reforms that are making the Middle East and North Africa a more hospitable business environment.
Your profit strategies are perfectly complementary to our strategies for peace. Private sector capital is the most direct way to translate the abstract promise of peace into concrete benefits that can lift the lives and livelihoods of ordinary people. By giving individuals and communities a stake in peace, you can pave the way for true reconciliation among peoples and nations. By crisscrossing borders with new electrical grids, fiber optic cables and gas pipelines, you can integrate the region's economies and make war ever less likely.
The process that we launched in Casablanca two years ago, and that we renew today, will reinforce our partnership for peace and prosperity. By bringing so many business people together, we are generating the contacts that can lead to contracts. We are showcasing opportunities available in our host country, Egypt, and the other countries participating here. And we are giving fresh impetus to the new institutions that will promote economic development and cooperation across the region.
The Middle East-Mediterranean Travel and Tourism Association is now established, with a secretariat in Tunis. It is working with the private sector to develop the enormous potential for tourism that these lands of miracles and monuments hold for us. And the Regional Business Council is poised to become an important forum for exchanging business information, publicizing investment opportunities, and developing ways to support the private sector.
We are making progress toward opening the flagship regional institution, the Middle East Development Bank. I am pleased to say that the United States will sign the Bank's Charter next week and we will send representatives to the Bank's Transition Team to Cairo later this month. The Bank's mission is to be a catalyst -- to support key private sector projects and to focus on the region's growing infrastructure needs. The Clinton Administration will work with the new Congress to gain strong American backing for the Bank so that it can become operational by the end of next year. I urge other nations to come forward now to support the Bank's funding needs.
For too long, this region has been held back by the ravages of conflict and war -- and by the inefficiencies of statist and protectionist economic policies. It faces a dual challenge if it is to prosper. To compete effectively, this region must not only make peace. It must reform.
Two years ago in Casablanca and again last year in Amman, I called upon the governments of the Middle East and North Africa to meet this challenge -- to modernize their economies, open up their markets, crack down on corruption, and remove the bureaucratic bottlenecks and regulatory obstacles that have for too long scared off investors and drained away precious capital. Today we can see encouraging progress across the region.
Here in Egypt, reform is brightening the prospects for growth and attracting the interest of foreign companies and investors, as President Mubarak so clearly outlined this morning. The government has already privatized over 100 companies. It has cut tariffs on capital goods, and eased registration procedures for investors. The new stand-by arrangement with the IMF will help support Egypt as it consolidates these and other business-friendly reforms, such as restructuring the tax system. Egypt is also making important progress in strengthening its protection of intellectual property rights. That is one reason why Microsoft decided to open a regional office here in Cairo. Over 50 American companies now have manufacturing operations in Egypt, demonstrating confidence in the growing potential of this market -- and that number will certainly grow. The United States will continue to develop our economic cooperation with Egypt through the partnership led by President Mubarak and Vice President Gore.
Jordan's recent reforms, from adopting a new investment law to lowering trade barriers, are also beginning to modernize its economy. The capitalization of its stock market is increasing rapidly. American companies, from Sheraton to Sprint, are seizing opportunities to help Jordan build its infrastructure. I am delighted to announce that only yesterday, the United States and Jordan signed an Open Skies Agreement to fully liberalize commercial aviation between us. It is the first such agreement we have reached outside of Europe, and I hope that we can negotiate similar agreements with others in this region soon to make both business and tourist travel more efficient.
Israel is also carrying out important reforms that are giving its economy a new dynamism. Privatization is contributing to growth and attracting foreign investment. Israeli and Arab business people from virtually all the countries represented here today are forging links that were inconceivable just several years ago. I am very encouraged by Prime Minister Netanyahu's commitment to deepen economic reform. And I am confident that trade and investment between the United States and Israel and the other countries in this region will continue to expand.
Today I want to encourage greater American economic engagement across the Middle East and North Africa -- from the dynamic Gulf States to Morocco and Tunisia, two countries that are taking so many positive steps to encourage trade and foreign investment. I also want to salute the Israeli and Arab business people who have begun to build relationships to move forward. You are definitely pioneers for peace, and we need your courage and perseverance now more than ever.
But most urgently of all, I want to encourage you to invest in peace where it can make the greatest difference. Economic conditions in the West Bank and Gaza have not prospered as we had hoped. They must improve -- and improve quickly -- if we are to give Palestinians a full and tangible stake in peace.
We must work together to help the Palestinians build a prosperous free market economy and overcome the barriers to the flow of goods, services and people. President Clinton has recently signed legislation to grant duty-free access for Palestinian exports to the United States. We hope our major trading partners will take similar steps. We are also working to establish special industrial zones that can become magnets for investment, jobs and especially for hope.
As Secretary of State, in my frequent travel to this region, I have spent the bulk of my time talking to government leaders and diplomats. One reason I value these economic conferences so much is that they give me a chance to speak to the business community so well represented here today. When I am with you, I feel I am also addressing the vast majority of the people in the region who speak the common language of commerce and who share our vision of a better future. You are indeed the constituency for peace.
You have already waited too long to see this region's borders become open gateways, not fortified barriers, to trade and investment. You have an interest in pushing for progress in the peace process. And you have a responsibility to work with the governments of this region to wipe out the barriers and boycotts and prejudices and taboos that obstruct commerce and hold this region back.
We share a common purpose, and we have mutually supporting roles to play. We both understand that there can be no lasting peace for the Middle East without rising prosperity -- and that there can be no lasting prosperity in this region without a deepening peace. If we build on the diplomatic and economic progress we have already made, a new millennium of peace and prosperity will soon dawn over these ancient lands. Thank you very much.
[end of document]
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