ARAB MINISTERS LAUNCH REGIONAL GOOD GOVERNANCE

C O N F I D E N T I A L AMMAN 008135

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/30/2014
TAGS: PHUM PREL KDEM KMPI JO
SUBJECT: ARAB MINISTERS LAUNCH REGIONAL GOOD GOVERNANCE
INITIATIVE

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires David Hale for Reasons 1.4 (b),(d)


1. (U) Fifteen Arab ministers meeting in Amman, Jordan,
along with representatives from the OECD and UNDP, announced
September 26 the launch of a regional reform initiative
focused on good governance and administrative modernization.
The initiative is an outgrowth of commitments to reform made
at the most recent Arab League summit in Tunis. Six Arab
countries will take the lead in planning and implementing the
initiative focusing on areas in which they have been
recognized as regional leaders: civil service performance
(Morocco),e-government (UAE),oversight of public funds
(Egypt),public resource management (Tunisia),civil society
and open media (Lebanon),and judicial modernization
(Jordan). Jordan also was tasked with preparing for a larger
conference on good governance at the prime minister level to
be held later in the year at the Dead Sea. In this capacity,
Prime Minister Faisal al-Fayez stated publicly that the GOJ
would hold talks with donor countries and Arab and
international funds to aid reforms in the Middle East.


2. (C) Jordanian Minister of Justice Salah Bashir told
Acting DCM that he was quite proud of the initiative and
Jordan's leading role in it, joking that the GOJ had once
again stolen an Arab leadership opportunity from Egypt.
Bashir said that the good governance project was pushing for
the same reform goals sought by the U.S. and G-8, but would
be better received in the region because it was an
Arab-generated initiative. Separately, Manar Dabas, Acting
Director of Foreign Minister Muasher's Private Office, told
Acting PolCouns that Jordan would work for the inclusion of
practical steps and concrete benchmarks in the resulting plan
so as to give it some "teeth."

HALE