Forum for the Future (Bahrain 2005)

The Forum for the Future in

human dignity, democracy, economic opportunity, and social justice

The Forum also served as a venue for the region's businesses and civil society groups to express their goals and ideas for reform to their governments.

Speaking on 5 November,

US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack previewed Ms Rice's agenda

"In Bahrain, she will attend the Forum for the Future, part of our ongoing efforts to empower people in the region as they seek to reform and improve their lives and better their futures. A big part of the Forum for the Future is to serve as a mechanism to create a stable lasting mechanism where civil society groups from across the region can come together".

As the host the Kingdom of Bahrain co-chaired the Forum with the current President of the G8, the United Kingdom. The Forum focused on how information technology can promote political development and economic growth in the region.

The G8 Broader Middle East and North Africa Initiative (BMENA) was launched at the Sea Island Summit hosted by the United States in 2004. The Bahrain meeting was the second Forum for the Future after the first was convened in Rabat, Morocco on December 11, 2004.