The Broader Middle East and North Africa Initiative: An Overview

Abstract

The Broader Middle East and North Africa Initiative (BMENA) is a multilateral development and reform plan aimed at fostering economic and political liberalization in a wide geographic area of Arab and non-Arab Muslim countries. In December 2004, the first BMENA meeting took place in Rabat, Morocco and was called the Forum for the Future. At the forum, foreign ministers and finance ministers of the countries in the region stretching from Morocco to Pakistan as well as from the countries of the G8 pledged to create several new development programs and committed $60 million to a regional fund for business development. Critics of BMENA contend that the initiative focuses too heavily on economic issues instead of political reform and does little to strengthen non-governmental organizations and civil society groups in Arab and non-Arab Muslim countries. The 109th Congress may consider new democracy-promotion and development programs for the broader Middle East. This report will be updated periodically to reflect new developments.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Feb 15, 2005
Accession Number
ADA458963

Entities

People

  • Jeremy M. Sharp

Organizations

  • Library of Congress

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Africa
  • Agreements
  • Commerce
  • Economic Development
  • Education
  • Foreign Aid
  • Foreign Relations
  • Geographic Regions
  • Governments
  • Human Rights
  • Middle East
  • National Security
  • New York
  • North Africa
  • Symposia
  • Training
  • United States

Fields of Study

  • Political science

Readers

  • Defense Technology Research and Development.
  • International Relations and European Studies
  • Nuclear Non-Proliferation and International Security