Though Syria and Lebanon continued officially to boycott all meetings attended by Israeli representatives, two unofficial contacts took place: on 6/20, Syrian and Lebanese representatives reportedly met with an Israeli delegate on the sidelines of the multilateral meeting on water; and on 7/24 senior Syrian, Lebanese, and Israeli foreign ministry officials met in Brussels on the sidelines of the preparatory meeting for the 11/28-29 Barcelona business conference.
Syria and Lebanon continued to boycott all meetings attended by Israeli representatives. Meetings during the quarter were as follows:
- The Multilateral Working Group on Economic Development held a follow-up meeting in Cairo on 12/5. Representatives from Egypt, the EU, France, Israel, Japan, Jordan, the PA, and the U.S. agreed to form three regional councils on finance, trade, and tourism to strengthen regional cooperation. Another two-day meeting was held in Bonn 1/18-19, but the PA delegation head concluded that little more can be achieved until Israeli-Palestinian bilateral negotiations move forward.
- The Middle East Arms Control Group held its seventh meeting in Tunis 12/ 13-15. Participants (Algeria, Egypt, Israel, PA, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, U.S.) discussed confidence-building measures, naval issues, the creation of regional communication and security centers, and demilitarized zones. At the end of the meeting, members agreed to form three regional security/conflict-prevention centers (Amman, Qatar, Tunis) with main headquarters in Cairo, but could not agree on a joint declaration defining security relations because of differences over the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
- ear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). * The Refugee Working Group also held its seventh session 12/13-15, in Ankara. Over 250 delegates from 40 countries and organizations attended. They discussed job creation, family reunification, aid for children, public health, social and economic infrastructure, and human resource development. At the end of the meeting, the group submitted a proposal for a vocational training program for Palestinian refugees. The plan would cost $20 m. over three years.
- The multilateral talks steering committee met for two days (1/22-23) in Cairo to discuss accomplishments of the five working groups. Delegations from Canada, Egypt, the EU, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Norway, the PA, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and the U.S. attended.