Powell pushes Mideast development
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Powell: "With peace you need economic development."
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AMMAN, Jordan (CNN) -- Working to foster a Mideast free-trade zone, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said the full benefits of peace will never be known in the region without economic development.
"We want peace in the region, but with peace you need economic development or the people will not benefit from that peace," Powell said Monday.
"And to get economic development you also need investment in the human capital that exists in the region."
Powell was speaking to reporters on the final day of the World Economic Forum meeting in Jordan, hosted by King Abdullah II.
In addition to prompting Israel and the Palestinians toward progress along the so-called "road map" to peace, Powell is also pushing an initiative by U.S. President George W. Bush for a U.S.-Middle East Free Trade Area by the year 2013.
"What struck me is that everyone could see the linkage between the various issues we've been talking about over the last several days," Powell said.
Powell also scolded any group that would try to keep peace efforts from succeeding.
"There are those in Hamas and other similar organizations that do not want to see progress toward peace," he said. "They will continue through terrorist acts to frustrate those efforts and blow up the road map.
"What we have to do is to continue to work with all parties to press forward to make sure this does not occur," Powell said.
"We cannot let a few individuals, and there really are a few who are involved, keep us from moving forward and making progress."
The economic forum has attracted wide attention from the region.
Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, the Palestinian Authority and the Arab League all sent ministers to the forum.
