The G8 BMENA Initiative
The G8 Broader Middle East and North Africa (BMENA) Initiative represents
genuine cooperation between G8 and BMENA governments, private sector, and
regional civil society advocates, and strengthens freedom, democracy and
prosperity for all. The inaugural Forum for the Future held in Rabat in
December 2004 established a process of dialogue among G8 and regional
governments in pursuit of these aims, and underwrote seven ambitious
initiatives formulated at the Sea Island summit. Since the first Forum, civil
society groups and lead partner countries have made significant advances to this
agenda and focused on transparency and good governance, democratic
participation, women's empowerment, legal reform, and human rights.
The yearly Forum for the Future is a centerpiece of the BMENA partnership. It provides an international venue to support the reform voices in the region. The Forum permits the partners and other supportive countries and organizations to engage in political, economic and social reform on a regular basis.
Key Objectives
Each G8 country, with its regional co-chair, has led the BMENA Initiative once. Many civil society leaders in the region are calling for “less talk and more action” from BMENA in 2012. This year, the co-chairs and NGO partners proposed the following overarching objectives for the 2012 BMENA process:
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10th Forum for the Future
The United Kingdom, the next G8 president, and Egypt will co-chair the BMENA Initiative in 2013 and build on the progress achieved in 2012 and previous years.