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The Conference
The Kingdom of Morocco is hosting the 6th Edition of the Forum for the Future on 2nd and 3rd November 2009 in Marrakesh. This Edition is co-chaired by Morocco and Italy in its capacity of President of the G8 for the current year.
This year and for the second time, Morocco holds the works of the Forum for the future in its 6th edition after it had held the first on 11th December 2004, co-chaired with the United States, then president of the G8.
Presentation of the Conference
The Forum for the Future is a joint initiative of the countries of the BMENA and the G8. It was launched at the Sea Island G8 Summit in the United States. During this summit, the G8 countries stressed their commitment to promote reforms in the BMENA region and to help establish an environment conducive to an informal, flexible, open and inclusive dialogue.
The Forum brings together representatives of Governments of the region and the G8 (at the level of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs) as well as the civil society and the private sector.
Being a body intended for discussion and dialogue aimed to promote reforms to be implemented in the BMENA, the Forum for the Future has become one of the most important political events organized by the countries of the region. Having agreed on a joint agenda, all countries offer a wide range of reform possibilities to the Governments, business circles and civil society of the BMENA in a prevailing spirit of mutual respect.
Since its launch, the Forum for the Future has become a key event in the regional and international diplomatic calendar. It is the outcome of several months of consultation and exchange between the countries of the BMENA from one hand and with their G8 partners on the other.
Objectives
Talks during the Forum for the Future will further develop cooperation in order to materialize commitments and increase the efforts needed to reform the institutions of the region.
They will particularly promote the reinforcement of universal values such as human dignity, democracy, women’s emancipation, the rule of law, human rights and civic participation. It will also generate important economic opportunities.
Falling under the Forum, the meetings between business circles and civil society actors will contribute to the definition of the reforms and to the planning of their implementation by the Governments in a way that respects the values and specificities of each of these countries.
The Role of Morocco
Choosing Morocco to host the Forum for the Future, a second time, is a testimony of the esteem for the Kingdom of Morocco, which has been committed for years now to the reform process, under the guidance of His Majesty King Mohammed VI.
Morocco believes that the Forum is an opportunity to exchange point of views on the ways and means to support the countries of the region’s commitment to consolidate the existing assets and to further carry on the ongoing reforms.
During this Forum, Morocco will highlight its belief that political development is a long and laborious task. The reforms and development processes would be viable only through a democratic transition that liberates individual and collective potential within a progressive and pragmatic approach based on initiatives, national ownership and mutual respect.
Previous Editions
The Forum for the Future was initiated in conformity with the declaration of the Arab Summit held in Tunis in May 2004 and that of Sea Island in the USA in June of the same year.
Since that date, five yearly editions were held under the following co-chairmanship:
- Forum for the Future (2004): Kingdom of Morocco/United States of America
- Forum for the Future (2005): Kingdom of Bahrain/United Kingdom
- Forum for the Future (2006): Kingdom of Jordan/Russian Federation
- Forum for the Future (2007): The Republic of Yemen/Federal Republic of Germany
- Forum for the Future (2008): United Arab Emirates/Japan
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