American-Moroccan Relations & the Path Toward Democracy
AMI & the US Congress, US Congress, Washington DC, June 8, 2006Members of US Congress, the Moroccan parliament, and high-level government representatives met on Capitol Hill to discuss Morocco's recent democratic reforms in relation to US foreign policy in the Middle East. The conference addressed the following questions: What are the challenges and promises of social, religious, and political reforms in Morocco? What particular solutions do they provide to the issues of terrorism, women's rights, and the Sahara? Do reforms in the Middle East overlap or conflict with the US attempt to promote democracy in the region? How is Arab democracy negotiated between domestic specificities and foreign pressures? What example do democratic reforms in Morocco set for the rest of the Arab and Muslim world?
The conference brought together American and Moroccan panelists from a wide array of political backgrounds to discuss one of the most important topics today, namely, how democracy should be viewed in the context of East-West relations. speakers included: Congressmen Lincoln Diaz-Balart, John Larson, Robert Wexler, Sam Gejdenson; Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen; Moroccan Deputies Fatna El-Kheil and Abdenbi Saligane; ex-minister and Ambassador at Large Serge Berdugo; RTM General News Director Ali Bouzerda; and the vice-president of the World Federation for Moroccan Jewry Charles Dahan. The event was attended by Moroccan diplomats, State Department officials, Arab-American NGOs, and members of the international media.
Moroccan Ambassador Serge Berdugo, AMI president Mokhtar Ghambou, and US congressman John Larson