Egypt, Saudi Arabia urging Arabs into unified reform

CAIRO, Egypt -- Egypt and Saudi Arabia will propose at an Arab summit that the region adopt a unified strategy for political and economic reforms, according to a document obtained by The Associated Press on Sunday.

The idea is partly a response to a Bush administration proposal for political reform in the Middle East that is modeled on the 1975 Helsinki pact the West used to press for greater freedom in the Soviet Union and eastern Europe.

Egypt and Saudi Arabia have criticized the idea. Their three-page document has few specifics but calls for Arabs to play a greater role in running their political, economic, social and cultural affairs.

Diplomats said the proposal will top discussions at the Arab summit March 29 and 30 in Tunisia. Arab foreign ministers open four days of discussions in Cairo on Monday to prepare an agenda for the summit.

The Egyptian-Saudi proposal would "spur individuals through participation and enable the Arab people to play their true role in the world economic order," the document says.

The plan calls for unspecified reforms that will allow Arabs to boost their position internationally "through positive interaction" with the rest of the world.

Question marks

Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa, commenting on the idea, said "discussions were under way for a unified Arab position toward the American and other initiatives."

Moussa insisted that any Mideast initiative should also deal with the Arab-Israeli conflict.

"The absence of this element has raised big question marks and doubts in the credibility of such initiatives," he told reporters Sunday.

The Egyptian-Saudi plan also suggests that Arab states coordinate their foreign and security policies. Arab diplomats said Egypt is proposing a Security Council for the Arab League modeled after the United Nations body of the same name.

Last week, U.S. Undersecretary of State Alan Larson discussed the Bush administration initiative with leaders of both Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Later he said the U.S. plan is intended as advice, not a blueprint, and that ideas for reform must come from the region.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal has called the U.S. proposal "the imposition of a reform pattern from abroad." Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has described the plan as "a ready-made recipe for reform imposed on the region." Syria also has rejected it.

President Bush is also sending State Department Undersecretary Marc Grossman to the region to discuss the plan during a weeklong trip that also will take him to Turkey and to NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. Grossman plans to hold talks with the allies about what NATO can do to help spur democracy and security among Arab nations.