U.S. Pledges to Support Arab Leaders Who Fight Corruption and Are Committed to Reform and Freedom

In a statement delivered to Arab Governments attending a two-day conference on good governance and development in the Dead Sea, Jordan, President Bush pledged to help leaders committed to implement clear standards of economic, political, and social reform.

"I applaud the nations in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) that are actively working to promote the universal values of human dignity, democracy, economic opportunity, and social justice. Your efforts help advance a more prosperous and peaceful world," President Bush said.

U.S. Treasury Under Secretary for International Affairs John Taylor who read the President’s message, said that it is very encouraging to see this initiative get underway, "for not only does it address an essential element of development, but it is being driven by the countries of the region themselves. It is home-grown. Only when the push to reform comes from within does reform have a chance of succeeding."

"The United States is proud to support such efforts. We are an eager participant in this conference and in its sister initiative, the MENA-OECD investment program. Indeed, through the G-8/BMENA initiative, the United States is working with its G-8 and regional partners to develop an investment task force that will complement and support the work already underway. In this way the G-8 will be lending its support to this important work. Similarly, we hope to increase the scope for synergies and collaboration between the G-8/BMENA initiative and the governance dimension of this initiative," Taylor said.

President Bush encouraged Arab countries to build on the momentum of the G-8 Broader Middle East and North Africa (BMENA) initiative and synergize their "Good Governance for Development" (GfD) effort with the G-8 and to for exchanging "ideas to improve the lives of their people, fight corruption, and advance freedom."

The GfD Conference, which was hosted by King Abdullah II and organized by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), was attended by several Prime Ministers and hundreds of Ministers and senior officials from both Arab and OECD countries.

The United States is working with other G-8, OECD, and MENA partners to advance this important Arab-led good governance initiative and integrate it into the Forum for the Future Dialogue (www.state.gov/e/eeb/ecosum/future). Bahrain will host the next G-8-Arab Forum later this year, and Jordan will host the 2006 Forum.

The GfD Initiative is part of the United States Government’s international transparency and anticorruption agenda which includes:

• Denying safe haven to corrupt officials;
• Launching the Millennium Challenge Account to provide U.S. development assistance to countries that fight corruption, rule justly, invest in their people, and encourage economic freedom;
• Launching a G-8 (Sea Island) "Fighting Corruption and Improving Transparency" initiative to promote high standards of transparency in public financial management, procurement, the letting of public concessions, and the granting of licenses;
• G-8 BMENA initiative that builds a historic partnership to advance political, economic, and social reform and progress in the region;
• Strengthening OECD monitoring of OECD Anti-Bribery Convention implementation;
• Promoting regional cooperation on fighting corruption in Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the Organization of American States (OAS), and other regional fora; and
• Initiating and supporting the Global Forum on Fighting Corruption and Safeguarding Integrity process.