The region could reap much in the way of economic promise were it able to settle with justice the conflicts that feed its instability. Until now it can't, reports Dina Ezzat Securing the region's economic growth in the near and far future was supposed to be the main topic for discussion at the World Economic Forum on the Middle East (WEF-ME) that opened Sunday in Sharm El-Sheikh. Instead, the three-day meeting was all but hijacked by politics. The protracted Arab- Israeli struggle, seemingly nearing no end any time soon, overshadowed the meeting, especially with the growing realisation of the unlikelihood of securing US President George W Bush's promise to strike an agreement on the Palestinian-Israeli track before he exits the White House this year. "The Palestinian cause [and its settlement] is crucial for the future of this region," President Hosni Mubarak stated in his opening speech to the WEF- ME. And as King Abdullah of Jordan noted, the region is all but living in the shadow "a catastrophe" for as long as the Arab- Israeli conflict continues unresolved with the Palestinians still bearing the brunt of six decades of dispossession. Throughout the parallel sessions of the three-day conference projections for the future of economic development in the Middle East region were positive. Economic reform measures in several Arab countries were recognised for their ability to attract foreign direct investment. The steep rise in oil revenues and its impact on the development plans of oil-producing countries was also acknowledged. Praised was the expansion of the tourism and information technology industries across the region. The need for more generous investment in human resources, especially through upgrading education, and the potential optimal use of increasingly scarce natural resources -- especially water -- were debated. While these subjects may appear discreet, almost every time any of them were discussed the shadow of the Arab-Israeli struggle loomed large. This spectre was particularly present in meetings where regional integration -- projected by many regional and international business community participants as the answer to all the region's development aspirations -- was discussed. "We don't want -- and we are not trying -- to make an excuse out of the [Arab-Israeli] struggle, in order to [hold back] on moving forward with development," said Gamal Mubarak, son of the Egyptian president and assistant secretary-general of the ruling National Democratic Party. Nonetheless, all efforts to secure such development, or to move towards much-aspired regional economic integration, will "inevitably" be interrupted by the instability caused by six decades of struggle, he promptly added. According to Gamal Mubarak and other Arab participants, Israel's peace deals with Egypt and Jordan and its growing direct and indirect business and trade relations with several Arab states will not suffice. "A fair deal for the Palestinian-Israeli struggle and for the entire conflict has to be in place if this region is to move beyond the difficulties of struggle to the vistas of development and cooperation," he said Tuesday afternoon. "The celebration that this region needs is not [just] the 60th anniversary of the establishment of a particular state. What this region needs is precisely the celebration of full, fair and irreversible peace that can take all the peoples of the region towards sustainable development and prosperity." Resolution of the Arab-Israeli struggle, crucial as it is for the fate of the region, is not the only political prerequisite for stability and prosperity. Participants agreed that the stabilisation of other hot spots -- especially Iraq -- is almost equally essential if the Middle East is to secure long overdue development. Decades, it was pronounced in the corridors of the WEF- ME meeting, will pass before any of these issues is permanently settled. Many seemed to fear new and equally explosive confrontations during these decades. The worst fear is of inter-Arab confrontation -- for example, between those willing, or indeed eager, to toe the line of the US scheme for the region, and those who oppose it. This confrontation would not just be between nations qualified by the US as moderate and others labelled rogue and tyrant. Worse, it would be within nations. US President Bush was clear in his directive to point of being shocking to close allies. "All nations in the region... must stand together in confronting Hamas, which is attempting to undermine efforts at peace with acts of terror and violence, [and in] opposing Hizbullah terrorists, funded by Iran," Bush said. Speaking to Al-Ahram Weekly on condition of anonymity, Egyptian and Arab officials and businessmen expressed frustration over such language and tone. Some senior officials who are known for their outspoken opposition to political Islamist movements, especially Hamas and Hizbullah, regreted the confrontational mode adopted by Bush. One top Arab official commented that Bush made heroes of Hamas and Hizbullah by inviting to a confrontation. Consequently, governments who answer this call will be regarded as "traitors" and US lackeys. The escalating war on Hamas, Hizbullah, Iran and Syria -- all condemned in Bush's speech -- has become an open secret. In Sharm El-Sheikh to take part in the WEF-ME gathering and meet with President Mubarak, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Defence Minister Ehud Barak and Likud Leader Benyamin Netanyahu all spoke of the need for all countries of the region to unite in the war on Hamas and Hizbullah. Like Bush, they seemed intent to deny any distinction. (see p.5)
