US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Marc Grossman praised Morocco for its reforms in family law, its Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States, the release of prisoners, and the establishment of a commission on justice and reconciliation.
Speaking to reporters in Al-Hoceima March 1, Grossman said he had met with King Mohammed and described to him, "some of the opportunities that we see to support a reform agenda that we see coming in the next few months."
Grossman, currently on a trip to Morocco, Egypt, Bahrain and Jordan, is consulting with those governments on how the United States can best support economic, political and social reform efforts in the region. The under secretary said the Bush administration will not try to impose reforms from the outside but will support countries that take the initiative in reforms.
"I want to be clear here, as I was to all of the people I spoke to today, that the United States of America cannot and will not impose reform from the outside. The instructions we have from our President are to support those who are pursuing reform and we recognize that reform will take many different forms," Grossman said.
Grossman said the U. Congress has allotted a substantial amount of money to support reforms through the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI), and the United States is starting to fund specific reform programs. — (menareport.com)
© 2004 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
