Word: summit
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...South Africa, and it left an impression. As I'd discovered firsthand, it can be hard to escape the damaging clichés about Africa - about the perennial curses of bribery, corruption and lawlessness. These negative associations with Africa were much on the minds of people at the summit in Cape Town. "We are fighting an image problem," said Mo Ibrahim, a Sudanese-born cell-phone magnate who has created a multi-million-dollar prize to reward good political governance in Africa. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, an ex-Finance Minister in Nigeria known for fighting corruption, likewise lamented that the private...
There is some merit in this rosy outlook. An Arab participant in the summit tells TIME that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert "used language we haven't heard before - a commitment that we can work with him to develop a time-line for political negotiations aimed at final [agreement...
...good portion of the $700 million in withheld tax revenues that Palestinians say Israel owes the Palestinian Authority. He also said he'd seek cabinet approval for the release of 250 Palestinian prisoners who don't have Jewish blood on their hands. In his public statement at the summit, Olmert said he saw "a chance for peace" and does not intend "to let this opportunity pass us by." A senior Arab diplomat interprets Olmert's remarks as meaning the Israeli leader "realizes there is a new opportunity and he needs to take advantage...
...Arab side, the summit constituted a resounding vote of support for Abbas as a worthy partner for peace and a repudiation of Hamas' rejectionist agenda. The summit effectively ostracized Hamas from the Arab fold, warning that it will have no future political role in Palestine if it does not accept the rules of democracy and reverse its coup against Abbas' authority in Gaza. In the view of Arab optimists, Abbas now more fully understands the danger that Hamas represents to his own leadership as well as the Palestinians' future. All of this represents a strengthening consensus behind the peace process...
...even the optimists agree, it is not enough. Some Arab diplomats point to Olmert's poor track record when it comes to fulfilling agreements, expressing skepticism that he will deliver his summit promises of money and prisoner releases much less a return to serious peace negotiations. "Let's wait and see what's going to happen," says a senior Arab diplomat. "God knows whether it will get implemented or not." Without real progress in the peace process, he points out, Hamas will regain political support at Abbas' expense...