Subject: UK Foreign Secretary: Robin Cook Speech
Date: Tue, 17 Mar 1998 22:43:24 +0000
To: "Hebraic Heritage Newsgroup"<heb_roots_chr@geocities.com>
From: Eddie Chumney
Subject: UK Foreign Secretary: Robin Cook Speech
To: <HEB_ROOTS_CHR@geocities.com>
SPEECH BY THE FOREIGN SECRETARY, MR ROBIN COOK, AT A RECEPTION TO
MARK 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ANGLO-ARAB ASSOCIATION, LOCARNO SUITE
FOREIGN OFFICE, LONDON, 5 MARCH 1998
'THE ARAB-BRITISH PARTNERSHIP'
I am delighted to be speaking to the Anglo-Arab Association on its
fiftieth anniversary. Coming the week after the deadline for
spending the old fifty pence coins, and a few days after my own
just-past-fiftieth birthday, it is a good time for golden
anniversaries. You have done much throughout the last fifty years
to bring the Arab world and Britain closer together. I am glad to
see the Association in such good health, and looking good for the
next fifty years. The fundamentals of the relationship between Britain
and the Arab world are strong. We are bound by links of trade, common
interests and an active, practical partnership. The foundation of our
friendship is a shared history that enables us to understand one
another and a bond of affection between our peoples. The fiftieth
anniversary of your association, and the wealth of people with
experience and understanding of the Arab world assembled in these
rooms is living testimony to our close relationship.
But the links go back much further the fifty years. Our trade
missions to Morocco started in 1551 when the British merchant ship
Lion arrived in their waters. We have had continuous
representation in Algeria since 1580, our first diplomatic
agreement with Oman in 1646, and treaties on commerce with Tunisia
dating back to 1658. It is a long and rich history. Europe owes a
big debt for what it has gained from Arab culture and civilisation.
We count in Arabic numbers. Many sciences, from astronomy to
medicine, have their roots in Arabic learning. The thoroughbred
racehorses that I watch whenever I have the chance are descended
from Arab livestock.
These common ties of education and culture have bound our two
societies together for hundreds of years. They mean that we can
truly call ourselves neighbours and friends. And in the modern
world the need for us to work together and the opportunities to do
so are greater than they have ever been.
That is the principal message I want to put across today - that
Britain and the Arab world have a strong partnership based on long
understanding. And I want to reach out beyond the diplomats and
ministers, and make sure that this message reaches our peoples.
Because trust between our peoples is the most secure basis for
lasting friendship.
WORKING TOGETHER
Today, our partnership is strong across the board. Our companies
are working together. Last year, our trade with the Gulf exceeded
our trade with the whole of Latin America, and we did almost as much
business with Saudi Arabia as we did with Japan. Our armed forces
are cooperating to build a firmer regional security. Our
universities are studying joint projects together. We are even
playing sports together. Ours is a practical partnership, grounded
in the things that matter. We are gearing up to cooperate in
tackling the common challenges of the next century. (So extensive
is our partnership that in deference to the social purposes of this
reception I will take the next part of my speech as read, but it
will appear in the published version).
Let me address one particular concern. Well over a quarter of a
million Arabs live in Britain. They are welcome, and they make an
important contribution to our multi-ethnic society, our economy
and our national life. It is the very size of the Arab community
that sometimes gives rise to concern among our friends in Arab
governments about the number of Arab opposition groups that have
made their home in Britain, and their links with terrorist groups.
Let us be clear about this. Britain condemns terrorism absolutely.
We have suffered as much as anyone from its evil. We will use all
the tools at our disposal in the international fight against
terrorism. It is untrue and unfair to say that Britain conceals
terrorists.
We have legal obligations on asylum. We are committed to the UN
Convention on Refugees, and will consider all requests for asylum
according to the Convention's provisions. We are also committed to
free speech. We cannot treat foreigners who live in our country
differently from our citizens, however much we disagree with what
they say.
We hear the concerns of our Arab friends, and we are trying to
steer a course that meets both our opposition to terrorism and our
commitment to political asylum and free speech. We will be
introducing legislation that will allow us to prosecute those who
conspire in the UK to commit terrorist acts abroad. We will not
hesitate to deny anyone asylum who is abusing their refugee status
to promote terrorism.
OUR PARTNERSHIP
Our partnership is flourishing. First, the links between our
companies. The global economy is now a reality, not just a slogan.
In 1997 Britain did almost 12 billion pounds in trade with the Arab
world. British companies are busy right across the Middle East.
Rolls Royce are setting up a joint venture factory in Eastern
Province of Saudi Arabia with the Al Zamil Group, manufacturing
equipment to distribute electricity. British companies have been
providing advice to restructure and privatise the Jordanian
telecommunications industry. Glaxo Wellcome have set up a joint
venture in Egypt to build a drugs manufacturing plant. These are
real partnerships - transferring technology, creating jobs and
spreading prosperity. Working together, our businesses and our
peoples can have confidence that the global economy is an
opportunity rather than a threat.
Our governments are working together to ensure that all our
economies benefit. We have been active in the Euromed Process
between the EU and our Arab neighbours, and which has set itself
the ambitious aim of building a free trade area by the year 2010.
Britain is determined to use its Presidency to help bring this aim
to reality. At the Ministerial meeting in Italy in the Summer, we
will give this process a boost. Because if we succeed, this could
transform the region, and help convert the tremendous resources of
its people and its land into economic prosperity and stability.
There are increasing links between Britain and the Gulf. We will
use our Presidency of the European Union to encourage greater
cooperation with the Gulf Cooperation Council. We are negotiating
a free trade agreement, which would be of immense benefit to the
economies and companies of both regions.
Our armed forces are working closely together. Across the region,
they are involved in joint exercises, training and cooperation. We
have a firm commitment to the long-term security of the Gulf. This
has been firmly shown by our standing deployment of the Armilla
Patrol, by our resolute response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in
1990 and threats since then, and by our part in the enforcement
of the Iraqi No Fly Zones.
Our police forces are working together to tackle crime. A Scotland
Yard detective is helping the Jordanian police set up the first
Family Protection Unit in the Arab world, which will be dealing
with cases of rape and child abuse. Scottish police have been
helping the Palestinian police in Gaza. We have an extensive
programme of cooperation with the UAE police.
Our civil societies are forging stronger links than ever before.
Over half a million British people visited North Africa in 1997.
Large numbers of Arabs come to Britain for their Summer holidays.
Our universities are working together on numerous joint projects,
especially in practical fields like oil exploration and refining.
King Abdulaziz University in Saudi Arabia has forged research links
with Lancaster University in Britain. Qatar University has set up
an industrial equipment evaluation centre working together with
University College London. British vocational qualifications are
now being adopted round the Gulf.
The British Council is active right across the Arab world, doing
everything from organising an Anglo-Arab women politicians meeting
in Egypt to helping the Palestinian Authority train its civil service.
There are over 11,000 students from North Africa in the
UK, and thousands of British students go to the Arab world to repay
the compliment. The National Trust is helping with conservation in
Jeddah. We have a strong programme of sports cooperation between
Saudi Arabia and Britain, that is promoting everything from
exchanges between our youth sportspeople with disabilities to
cooperation over sports medicine.
And as we face the challenges of the next century, we are putting
in place the cooperation that will allow us to face these common
challenges together. From the fight against the drugs trade to
tackling global warming, we are working together. The Bank of
England have been helping the UAE authorities combat money
laundering. We are working closely with the Moroccan authorities
to combat the hashish trade. London Zoo have been advising the
King Khalid Wildlife Research Centre on the preservation of the
Arabian Gazelle.
THE POLITICAL DIALOGUE
But as Foreign Secretary, it is the area of political cooperation
that is of most immediate concern to me. The past few weeks have
seen the Middle East dominate the headlines. The key regional
issues are among the most important and difficult in the whole
foreign policy arena, and have an impact far wider than just the
region. Tonight, I would like to focus on two of the key areas
-Iraq, and the Peace Process. On both of them, we share a key aim -
a Middle East in which security and justice provide the firm basis
for prosperity.
IRAQ
The recent crisis in the Gulf was a confrontation between Iraq and
the international community. The UN Security Council was united in
its demand that Saddam Hussain should abide by the promises he made
after the Gulf War. We shared a determination that UNSCOM should
be allowed free and unrestricted access throughout Iraq. And we
were united by a common respect for international law and a common
interest in the stability of the Gulf. It was a dispute that
started with Saddam's failure to respect UN resolutions. I hope
sincerely it is a dispute that has ended with the adoption this
week of a Security Council Resolution that enshrines the agreement
reached between Kofi Annan and Saddam Hussein.
Everyone at this reception wanted a peaceful solution to the recent
crisis, but the readiness to show military resolve was the only way
to get such a solution. Our policy was based on a paradox - that
to avoid having to use force against Iraq, we had to show Saddam
that we were prepared to use force against him. I do not think
that any objective observer now believes that Kofi Annan would have
succeeded in his mission had he not been supported by the clear
threat of force. As he himself said following his talks in
Baghdad, diplomacy can achieve far more when it is backed by
firmness and force.
My visit to the region last month, and the discussions I and my
colleagues held with our colleagues in the Arab world, showed me
clearly how much agreement there was between us. Arab leaders such
as President Mubarak did all in their power to persuade Saddam to
respect UN resolutions. The Gulf Cooperation Council made it clear
that if Saddam ignored the UN, his alone would be the
responsibility for the consequences.
We also found common cause with the Arab world in our desire to
ease the suffering of the Iraqi people. Britain is the second
largest aid donor to Iraq. Where our assistance is allowed to get
through - in Northern Iraq - we are helping the Iraqi people get
the food and medicine that they need. We are giving them the tools
that they need to be self-sufficient. We are helping them rebuild,
and move back to the villages that their own government has
destroyed and the farmland that their own government has laid with
mines.
Iraq has the resources to be one of the richest nations in the
Middle East. Instead it has been impoverished under Saddam Hussain
by war, selfish government, and the sanctions that go with his
defiance of the UN - on conservative estimates, Iraq has foregone
USD 200 billion in exports alone since the beginning of the
Iran-Iraq war. But Iraq can rejoin the international
community, and the Security Council can begin the process of
lifting sanctions, once Saddam complies with Security Council
resolutions. Britain has consistently been among those saying
there should be a light at the end of the tunnel for the Iraqi
people.
Britain has consistently led efforts in the UN to allow Iraq to
sell oil in return for food and medicine and other humanitarian
assistance. In the last few weeks Britain has co-sponsored a new
resolution more than doubling the amount of oil that Iraq can sell
in return for humanitarian supplies. We have put in place
safeguards so that the money raised will actually go to help the
people who need it. This could make all the difference to their
lives.
We are determined that this time the oil-for-food programme will
get the chance to work, and that the Iraqi people should get the
maximum possible benefit out of it. That is why I can announce
tonight that Britain, as Presidency of the European Union, will
organise a meeting to work out how Europe and others can help the
UN in swift and effective implementation of the expanded
oil-for-food programme, and to meet the most pressing needs of the
Iraqi people. Clare Short and I will act as co-host. Doubling the
size of the programme throws up many opportunities which we are
determined to seize. The meeting will provide a chance to consult
with all the key players, including the UN and NGOs, to ensure that
the European contribution to the scheme is used to the fullest
advantage of the Iraqi people. We will look at the best ways the
money can be spent and programmes that can be implemented quickly.
Iraq now has the money it needs to buy the food and medicine that
the Iraqi people need. It has the means to help Iraqi farmers
regain their livelihoods, and to restore electricity and clean
water to Iraqi communities. We are anxious to get on with it. We
intend to ensure that the Iraqi regime is offered the chance to
make the best possible use of the scheme. If they reject that
chance, the international community and the Arab world will know
who to blame for the suffering of the Iraqi people.
THE MIDDLE EAST PEACE PROCESS
A key international priority for the British Presidency of the
European Union is the Middle East Peace Process. We have
two clear aims - justice for the Palestinians
and security for the Israelis. We base our approach firmly on
international legality, including UN Resolution 242 which was
drafted by Britain under a previous Labour Government.
Britain believes firmly that the Oslo Process and the principle of
'land for peace' represent the best prospect for a solution. We
must proceed together through interim steps creating trust, and
work up to the most difficult questions. It will not work if
either side tries to unpick the bits of the agreement they do not
like. Nor will it work if the parties are left to work out
arrangements on their own.
Europe has an important part in the Middle East Peace Process. The
European Union provides more than twice as much assistance to the
Palestinians as the United States. As the nearest neighbour to the
Middle East, Europe has a major stake in peace.
And so tonight I start an intensive European effort to stimulate
progress. Next week I will meet with my European colleagues to
discuss how we can provide new impetus to the Peace Process. The
next day I will leave for the region to take foward our ideas
for breaking the stalemate.
There are three key ways in which Europe can help get the Peace
Process back on track. First, we can set out the immediate
political decisions that are needed to unblock the Peace Process.
Second, we can continue vital practical work to give the process
momentum. And third, we can give the process a helpful nudge in
the right direction by increased diplomatic commitment.
First, unblocking the Peace Process. We believe that there are
six steps that must be taken to get the process back on track and
to restore trust between the parties.
- Both parties must restate their unequivocal commitment to honour
existing agreements.
- The Israelis must make substantial, credible and urgent further
redeployments.
- There must be a parallel commitment by the Palestinians to a
hundred per cent effort on security; and implementation of precise
security commitments, complemented by an effective mechanism for
their monitoring.
- A halt to all expansion of settlements.
- The opening of the Gaza airport, Gaza industrial estate and
southern free passage, and an agreement to begin work on the
Seaport.
- The resumption of final status talks as soon as there is progress
on the ground.
These measures will restore some of the trust and optimism that the
peace process had before. They will require compromise and
imagination from both sides. Adversaries of peace may try to put
the peace process to the test. But as Yitzhak Rabin said: 'We
must make peace as though terrorism did not exist, and make war on
terrorism as though the peace process did not exist'.
Britain has long and strong ties with Israel. We have consistently
supported the Israeli people's right to security. And it is worth
remembering that they elected the present government because of Mr
Netanyahu's promise to deliver peace with security. The Israeli
people know that without peace there can be no real, lasting
security. They want the peace process to go forward. They share
the world's concern about the current stalemate.
The second part of our plan - practical assistance - will help
entrench that trust and optimism. The European Union is already
helping, by providing targeted practical assistance that gives the
people of both sides a stake in peace. The average Palestinian is
a third worse off than when the peace process began. The best way
to fight extremism is to fight poverty, and to show ordinary people
that peace can have a real, positive impact on their lives. Doing
so is in the interests of both sides.
Which is why the second part of our plan is so important. Europe
is already engaged in intensive dialogue with the Israeli
Government designed to remove restrictions on the Palestinian
economy. We have offered to help with the opening of the Gaza
Airport and Seaport, as well as the Gaza industrial estate and the
Southern free passage. We are already helping this process, for
example by providing equipment for Gaza Airport. We want to play a
fuller role in the talks on these vital economic issues. The
nations of Europe are trading nations. We have a trade agreement
that covers the Occupied Territories. Unless the Palestinian
Authority has the means to trade with the outside world, this
agreement is worthless.
Since 1993 Britain and our EU colleagues have provided nearly
USD 2 billion in aid to the Palestinians. This does not just help
the Palestinians. It benefits the security of the Israelis as
well. We understand how important security is for the
Israelis. We know from our own experience the suffering that
terrorism causes, and so we know the need to make every effort to
defeat it. This is one of the reasons we are assisting the
Palestinians with a USD 6 million programme to help them fight
terrorism.
Under the British Presidency, the EU has just made a major
commitment to extend its aid to the Palestinians when the current
programme expires at the end of the year. We are allowing
Palestinian goods preferential access to the EU. And with the
Commission and France, we are co-sponsoring an academic conference
at Warwick University on how the donor community can help solve the
refugee problem. The European Union does a great deal, but I want
to see that effort have more of an impact, both on the ground and
in the political negotiations.
And as the third step in our plan, we will now urgently explore how
we can give renewed momentum to the peace process through a series
of visits and meetings over the coming weeks and months. Earlier
this week Tony Blair started the process by writing to Prime
Minister Netanyahu, President Arafat and President Clinton
stressing the importance we attach to reinvigorating the peace
process. I will be taking the same message to the countries of the
region in a week's time. No plan would be complete which neglected
the Syrian and Lebanese tracks. I hope to visit them and all the
other countries directly involved, and to discuss the Syrian and
Lebanese tracks as well as the Palestinian. And the Prime
Minister, Tony Blair, will himself be visiting the Middle East
soon, and stressing Britain's commitment to get the Peace Process
moving again.
We will also explore how best to bring together Europe and the US
as friends of the Peace Process, and Israel and the Palestinian
Authority as the two main parties to the Peace Process, to work out
how the new aid which the EU has just approved can best be used to
boost the Peace Process.
UNDERSTANDING
In this area, as in so many others, the answer lies in working
together. We have strong relations all round the Arab world, and
we are determined to make them stronger. We have a mature and
friendly dialogue that allows us to discuss our differences without
falling out. Debate does not spell division.
The Islamic community in Britain is flourishing - there are over
nine hundred mosques in Britain. There are now two Islamic schools
supported by the government. There is far more that binds our two
worlds than separates them. We face common problems, and we are
working on common solutions. As the British Foreign Secretary I
have high hopes for our relationship. I seek your friendship and
cooperation as partners in making sure that these hopes are
realised.
ENDS
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