كلمة دولة رئيس مجلس الوزراء الأستاذ فؤاد السنيورة في حفل العشاء للمشاركين في المنتدى الخامس للتنمية في الشرق الأوسط وشمال إفريقيا

أيها السادة،

أيها الإخوة،

سرَّني أن اختار منتداكم للتنمية في الشرق الأوسط وشمال إفريقيا، بيروتَ مكاناً للقاء. فقد كانت بيروتُ والحمد الله عادت مركزاً رئيسياً للتفكير والإبداع والممارسة المدنية والتنموية في منطِقتِنا. ولا شكَّ أنّ هذه المعانيَ والاعتبارات، كانت في أذهانِكم عندما ارتأيتُم المجيء، ولا شكَّ أنّ توقعاتِنا من اجتماعكم، هي بمستوى توقعاتِكم منا.

لا أريدُ الإطالةَ في الحديث في هذه العشية الأَنيسة في السراي الكبير، هذا الصرح الذي أراده الرئيس الشهيد رفيق الحريري نموذجاً لفهمه للبنان مجتمعاً ودولةً، تتلاءم فيه العراقة مع الحداثة، ويتلاقي فيه اللبنانيون، ويُزهر فيه إشعاع بيروت ويتلأْلأُ وضّاءً في الوطن العربي، وعوالم الشرق والغرب. نعم، لن أُطيلَ في الحديث، فنحن سنلتقي في الغدِ مجدَّداً لبحثٍ موصولٍ وماضٍ في العُمق في الموضوع الشديد الأهمية الذي أتيتُم من أجله، موضوع: "تطبيق الإصلاحات في البلاد العربية".

I would like to offer a few brief thought:

First:      Reform in the Arab world is not a luxury anymore. It is not a real choice. It is rather an imperative- a must- if we are to make real progress in achieving our economic social and developmental goals. There is a great deal of catching up to do. We cannot afford excuses for procrastination or delays, or for maintaining the status quo where change is badly needed. The world of the 21st century is certainly moving fast, and will not wait for us if we are not ready to adapt.

Second:   Adapting to the needs of a rapidly changing world does not mean changing who we are. Neither does it mean that we have to adopt prepackaged, off-the-shelf, recipes. Such recipes are unlikely to succeed anyway. Reforms need to take into account the particular environment in which they are applied. However, it is important to distinguish between this valid consideration, and rejecting good change simply by labeling it as alien- or foreign. We have a lot to learn from the experiences of others. Actually the aspirations and expectations of different nations and different societies are much more similar then people think.

Third:     Unfortunately, in many cases, reform has been turned into a slogan. It is not. Real reform means taking real steps to change rules and practices and ways of thinking and of doing things- ways that sometimes go back a long time. As we all know, change is often difficult. Even good change. It is crucial to try to understand the nature of the obstacles, whether social, cultural, or political, and find ways to address them. We view gatherings like yours as very important to address issues of reform implementation. They are also important because reform is not only or mainly the business of government officials or international experts. Participation by all stakeholders, especially, civil society and non-government organizations, is necessary for reform to succeed.

Fourth:As you know, we in Lebanon are engaged in a far-reaching transition. We have recently put forth for consideration and debate a program of institutional and economic reform. If we succeed in mustering broad national support for this program, we are convinced that Lebanon will begin its journey to a much more prosperous future. This is one of the many challenges we currently face. We will do our best to win it.

Finally, I would like to again thank the organizers of this conference, including in particular, the World Bank and the Lebanese Center for Policy Studies. I wish you all a very successful conference. And I wish our guests a very pleasant stay in Beirut and I wish you a pleasant evening.

السراي الكبير

الخميس في 06/04/2006

                                          رئيـس مجلـس الـوزراء

                                          فـؤاد السـنيورة