The forum will bring together foreign and finance ministers from more than 20 nations, including the Region of the Broader Middle East and North Africa (BMENA) countries and the G8 countries - the United States, Russia, Japan, France, Germany, Italy, Great Britain and Canada.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Saltanov, EU High Representative for foreign policy and security Xavier Solana and U.S. State Secretary Colin Powell are also expected to participate in the forum.
"The Forum for the Future is the centerpiece of the Partnership for Progress and a Common Future initiative launched by U.S. President George Bush and approved by other leaders of the G8, along with leaders of seven countries from the region, at the G8 Sea Island Summit of 2004. It will be presided by Moroccan Foreign Minister Mohamed Benaissa and U.S. Secretary of the Treasury John Snow," the Russian Finance Ministry press release says.
The participants will examine ways of consolidating the commitment of Middle East and North African countries to fruitful co-development and the harmonious strengthening of the process of political, economic and social reform in the region on the basis of authentic G-8 partnership.
This partnership must respect the will and specific characteristics of each country and use the mechanisms of cooperation established in the region, the ministry statement says.
The agenda of the forum includes the discussion of the problems in the dialogue between civil society and business community; issues of microfinancing, in particular, the implementation of small and micro-business development projects; issues of international money transfers; the development of the dialogue on assistance in the sphere of democracy; initiatives in the sphere of the fight against illiteracy; problems of the development of private business and the investment sphere.
According to analysts form Arab countries whose opinions are presented in the Lebanon media, the Forum for the Future in Rabat will give Middle East and North African countries a chance to express their views on the Partnership for Progress and a Common Future initiative.
Despite an impressive representation at the forum, many Arab countries harshly criticized the initiative of U.S. President George Bush to conduct such a meeting, which he put forward at the G8 Sea Island Summit of 2004.
In addition, many European countries are against the forum that is supposed to start a new dialogue between the West and Arab countries under US aegis. Morocco has been split into two camps as well. The first camp supports the official position welcoming U.S. initiatives. The second camp reflects public opinion, which denounces the project as U.S. meddling in the region.
The subject of democratic reforms in the Middle East according to the U.S. model caused serious controversy among countries-members of the Arab League on the eve of the All-Arab Summit in Tunisia in May 2004. Egypt and Saudi Arabia are the most vociferous opponents of the U.S. initiative because they see it as an attempt "to impose Western values" on Arab countries.
