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The Forum for the Future in Bahrain on 11-12 November 2005 brought together the leaders of states of the Middle East, industrialised countries of the Group of Eight (G8) and other partners to promote political, economic and social reform in the region. Delegates at the conference included US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy and Arab League Secretary General, Amr Moussa. The Forum members discussed an agenda to promote the values of human dignity, democracy, economic opportunity, and social justice. A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ...
The Group of Eight (G8) consists of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and the Russian Federation. ...
Condoleezza Rice (born November 14, 1954) is the 66th and current United States Secretary of State, and the second in the administration of President George W. Bush. ...
The Right Honourable John Whitaker Jack Straw (born August 3, 1946, Buckhurst Hill) is a British Labour Party politician. ...
Philippe Douste-Blazy at the United Nations summit on September 16, 2005 Philippe Douste-Blazy (b. ...
Flag of the League of Arab States The Arab League or League of Arab States (Arabic: جامعة الدول العربية), is an organization of Arab states (compare Arab world). ...
Amr Moussa Amr Moussa (Arabic: عمرو موسى, (born 1936) is an Egyptian diplomat and the current Arab League secretary-general, appointed in May 2001. ...
Human dignity is an expression that can be used a moral concept or a legal term. ...
Social Justice is a philosophical definition of the justice found operating in any given societys systems of social control. ...
The Forum also served as a venue for the region's businesses and civil society groups to express their goals and ideas for reform to their governments.
Speaking on 5 November, US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack previewed Ms Rice's agenda "In Bahrain, she will attend the Forum for the Future, part of our ongoing efforts to empower people in the region as they seek to reform and improve their lives and better their futures. A big part of the Forum for the Future is to serve as a mechanism to create a stable lasting mechanism where civil society groups from across the region can come together". The United States Department of State, often referred to as the State Department, is the Cabinet-level foreign affairs agency of the United States government, equivalent to foreign ministries in other countries. ...
As the host the Kingdom of Bahrain co-chaired the Forum with the current President of the G8, the United Kingdom. The Forum focused on how information technology can promote political development and economic growth in the region.
The G8 Broader Middle East and North Africa Initiative (BMENA) was launched at the Sea Island Summit hosted by the United States in 2004. The Bahrain meeting was the second Forum for the Future after the first was convened in Rabat, Morocco on December 11, 2004. For the Maltese city on Gozo Island which can also be called Rabat, see Victoria, Malta. ...
Participants
Bahrain, as Forum host, invited the following participants:
BMENA region: Afghanistan, Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Palestinian Authority, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Yemen and Sudan. The West Bank The Palestinian National Authority (PNA or PA) is a semi-autonomous state institution nominally governing the bulk of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip (which it calls the Palestinian Territories). It was established as a part of Oslo accords between the PLO and Israel. ...
G-8: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, United Kingdom and United States of America.
Partners: Spain and Denmark
Organisations: African Development Bank, Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, Arab Monetary Fund, Asian Investment Bank, European Commission, European Council, European Investment Bank, Gulf Cooperation Council, International Finance Corporation, International Monetary Fund, Islamic Development Bank, Maghreb Arab Union, World Bank. The African Development Bank (AfDB) is a development bank established in 1964 with the intention of promoting economic and social development in Africa. ...
The Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, or AFESD, is a Kuwait based, pan-Arab development finance institute. ...
The European Commission (formally the Commission of the European Communities) is the executive body of the European Union. ...
The European Council, informally called the European summit, is a meeting of the heads of state or government of the European Union, and the President of the European Commission. ...
The European Investment Bank (the Banque Européenne dInvestissement) is the European Unions financing institution and was established under the Treaty of Rome (1957) to provide loan finance for capital investment furthering European Union policy objectives, in particular regional development, Trans-European Networks of transport, telecommunications and energy...
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The International Finance Corporation (IFC) promotes sustainable private sector investment in developing countries as a way to reduce poverty and improve peoples lives. ...
The logo of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is the international organization entrusted with overseeing the global financial system by monitoring exchange rates and balance of payments, as well as offering technical and financial assistance when asked. ...
Islamic Development Bank (also known as IDB), is a multilateral development financing institution. ...
Arab Maghreb Union Pan Arab project aming at economic and political union in northern Africa, initiated in 1989. ...
Logo of the World Bank The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD, in Romance languages: BIRD), better known as the World Bank, is an international organization whose original mission was to finance the reconstruction of nations devastated by WWII. Now, its mission has expanded to fight poverty by means...
See also Bahrain is a constitutional monarchy (until 2002 emirate) with an executive appointed by the king, Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and a bi-cameral legislature, with the Chamber of Deputies elected by universal suffrage, and the Shura Council appointed directly by the king. ...
Women’s political rights have been a cornerstone of the political reforms initiated by King Hamad with for the first time women being given the right to vote and stand as candidates in national elections after the constitution was amended in 2002. ...
The Bahrain Centre for Human Rights is the biggest Bahrainian human rights organization. ...
External links - History of the G8 - UK government site
- Forum for the Future site of Bahrain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- US State Department Forum for the Future Fact Sheet
- Rice to attend Forum for the Future in Manama, Gulf News, 4 November 2005
- Bahrain urged to build on success, Gulf Daily News, 8 November 2005
- NGO's insist reform in Arabs' own interest, Daily Star, 8 November 2005
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