Davos Forum inaugurated in Sharm el-Sheikh

President Mubarak, Jordan monarch stress solution to Palestinian issue

Bush asks region to launch political, economic reforms

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak inaugurated the Davos World Economic Forum (WEF) in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh with participation of about 1500 senior officials, businessmen and economists from 70 nations.

Addressing the WEF inaugural session, President Mubarak welcomed the conferees and said that the Davos WEF has returned to Sharm el-Sheikh in a time when the Middle East region and the world is at a crossroad amidst hard regional and international circumstances and tough challenges.

President Mubarak wondered in his speech whether it was reasonable that some would produce biofuel with backing from their governments and whether it was acceptable that agricultural crops would be used to produce ethanol, snowballing an already deteriorating food price hike crisis.

"The international community is in need of re-assessing the real costs of production of biofuel with all its social and environmental repercussions on mankind's food security," Mubarak urged.

The Egyptian leader stressed that a mounting wave of terrorism is not mainly due to a yawning gap between the world's rich and poor classes as some would believe, not due to the absence of democracy as some others would think, but it is mainly due to the fact that there were issues that awaited for solutions for so long, on top of these the Palestinian issue, the core of the conflict in the region and the right track to deal with all crises.

"A just and comprehensive peace would be the key to stability in the Middle East and the right way to beleaguer the forces of extremism and terrorism," Mubarak said, referring to the Arab world's peace initiative proposed six years ago.

He welcomed U.S. President George W. Bush's vision to realize peace based on the two states notion as well as the current negotiations between the Palestinian and Israeli sides and President Bush's promise to reach a peace deal before the expiry of his term in office.

President Mubarak called on the international quartet committee to offer, in addition to its financial and economic backing for the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) institutions, the necessary political support required for the peace negotiations, adding a Middle East region's peace and prosperity is an indivisible part of the world's.

For his part, King Abdullah II of Jordan underlined the need to have the Palestinian issue solved and stability achieved in the Middle East region, noting an end for this conflict would have a global effect.

"A solution would bring about real security for the Israelis and relations based on respect and cooperation in the region," said the Jordanian monarch.

He underscored that the year 2008 should not end like the year 2000 when progress stopped and vistas for agreement collapsed, stirring later years of wide-scale violence.

"The real celebration would be on the day when the Palestinians and Israelis can say that they are free and feel secure and that the past is thrown behind their backs," King Abdullah II said.

U.S. President Bush said his country was aware of the magnitude of challenges facing the Middle East region, expressing belief that the region would be capable of realizing a good future.

"The countries of the region have a chance to move ahead and courageously and confidently provide reforms to achieve progress in the Middle East," Bush said in his address before the Egypt-hosted WEF.

He said this progress would also require economic reforms going side by side with political reforms.

"Since the year 2004 the average growth rate in the region hit more than 5% and the trade saw remarkable expansion in addition to fast progress in technology and immense increase in foreign direct investments that helped curb unemployment rates in many countries of the region," he said.

The American president called on the region's countries to benefit from the free trade and remove barriers and restrictions impeding inter-Arab trade, noting the United States would continue negotiating with countries in the region to sign bilateral trade agreements with it.

Bush also stressed in his speech the need to support the Palestinian people who have suffered for many decades for the sake of establishing a state of their own.

"I strongly support the solution of setting up two states: a democratic Palestine based on law and justice coexisting in security and peace side by side with Israel," he said.