Background Basics
Understanding the Arab League Follow-Up Committee
Official Name: League of Arab States’ Follow-Up Committee on the Arab Peace Initiative
Members: Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestinian Authority, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria and the Secretary General of the Arab League
Origins and Mandate: Members of the Arab League adopted the Arab Peace Initiative at the 2002 Beirut Summit. The document mentioned the need to form a separate, smaller committee to gather support for the plan. Later, two groups were formed to that end: the follow-up
Efforts Toward Middle East Peace Post-1991 Madrid Conference
In October 1991, the United States and Soviet Union co-sponsored a peace summit in Madrid that included representatives from the European Community, Egypt, Israel, Lebanon, Syria and a joint Jordanian-Palestinian delegation. The Arab Maghreb Union, Gulf Cooperation Council and UN were observers to the talks. The conference served as the starting point for a series of negotiating tracks between Israel and the surrounding Arab countries.
Israeli-Palestinian Track
Concurrent to the official bilateral talks, Israelis and Palestinians began unofficial
U.S. Administration Efforts Toward Middle East Peace, March-July
Top-Down Track
Proximity Talks
Special Envoy for Middle East Peace George Mitchell is concluding his sixth round of talks this week, which have included meetings with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahayan, Qatari Prime Minister Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner. Plans for proximity talks were announced in March, but the first round did not begin
Overview of Recent World Bank Report on Palestinian Economy and State
On April 13, the World Bank presented a report, “Towards a Palestinian State: Reforms for Fiscal Strengthening” to the Ad-Hoc Liaison Committee in Madrid, Spain.
The World Bank identifies fiscal strengthening as a critical area for PA reform to ensure the sustainability of a future Palestinian state. The Palestinian Authority (PA) has been working toward this goal with the Palestinian Reform and Development Plan (PRDP), which was presented in August 2009.
Current Situation: The report discusses the economic state of the