Newsletter No. 546
News-Analysis
March 11, 2007

 

The following newsletter has been contributed by Keely Fahoum (Shingetsu Member No. 112). Fahoum is based at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey.

THE PROPECTS FOR THE UPCOMING FOUR-PARTY ARAB-ISRAELI TALKS IN TOKYO

Last week, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso commented on the upcoming meeting to be attended by officials from Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Territories. The meeting is tentatively scheduled for March 14th and aims to focus on the proposal that Japan made when former Primer Minster Koizumi visited the region last summer called the Corridor of Peace and Prosperity (CPP).

The aim of the CPP is to develop the Jordan Gorge along the Jordan River as a place to grow agro-centric industries and connect the area with the Gulf States which are going to be the major consumers of the products grown in the corridor. Prime Minster Ehud Olmert discussed the CPP in a recent communique to his Cabinet. The objective of the corridor, Olmert stated, was to turn West Asian border zones into areas of cooperation, economic development, prosperity and stability. The corridor will include major projects relating to a water-carrier plan, Eilat-Aqaba joint airport, the development of joint copper mines, tourism enterprises, rail links and a Palestinian Industrial Zone.

At this time, anticipated attendees include Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres of the State of Israel, Chief Negotiator Saeb Erekat of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and a chief representative from Jordan. From Japan, Dr. Tatsuo Arima, Special Envoy of the Government of Japan for the Middle East Peace Process, will attend, as well as other academics and representatives from the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), an organization which has contributed greatly to economic efforts within Jordan and the larger Levant region.

The meetings will have two purposes: one, to push the CPP at the government level, and another which will focus on confidence-building measures between the participating governments. Although MOFA representatives stopped short of saying the confidence-building measures would include any peace process topics, they did mention efforts made by the Japanese government to foster confidence and trust among all parties concerned.

While the upcoming meeting promises to offer some significant gains in economic cooperation between Israel and its neighbors, the Palestinian Territories and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, it is no coincidence that it coincides with the recent Quartet meeting concerning Palestinian institution-building efforts and the fragile peace process. Economic liberalization is one area which could build a strong foundation for a future Palestinian state, and which could help bolster stability in the region. Although the meeting is not focused on the peace process, any efforts to get the respective parties together to discuss issues surrounding stability or security can be interpreted as a confidence-building measure. Japan comes to the meeting with trust already established through its other regional economic efforts and more “neutral” stance on the peace efforts in the region. Through its soft power efforts, Japan is perceived by many people as being a more honest broker than many other outside powers, and this meeting will be an important event to observe the interactions and influence they may have over the process. If this meeting is successful, it will set the stage for future conferences and meetings within which steps can be taken towards the larger goals of peace and security in the Levant.

COMMENTARY

1) From John Edward Philips of Hirosaki University on March 15, 2007:

I'm watching an interesting interview on the BBC right now about Japan's role in bringing Israelis and Palestinians together for negotiations with important economic carrots. I know Japanese experts on the Israeli Palestinian dispute, and I think Japan is doing good work there, where my own country, the US, seems to be accomplishing little or nothing. Still, given the relatively greater investment Japan has made in its relations with Iran (and I'm not just talking about economic investments), not to mention Japan's well-known strong feelings about nuclear weapons, I find its relatively greater visibility on the Israeli Palestinian issue surprising.

Well, thirty, forty or fifty years from now, when relevant files are declassified, we may all be surprised. It's quite possible there are important things going on behind the scenes that we know nothing about.