The region's diplomatic agenda for this week contains an intriguing juxtaposition of state visits, for those interested in monitoring the developments under way in political realignments and efforts to solve long-standing disputes. Lebanon's President Michel Sleiman is in Ankara to meet top Turkish officials, while Jordan's King Abdullah is the first Arab leader to meet Barack Obama in the White House.
The Washington meeting of King Abdullah and Obama has its symbolic side. The two leaders have an intriguing mix of Western and non-Western heritage. Both are steeped in the experience of partially representing what is "the other" in a given context. And both are on the young side, although Abdullah marks a decade in power this year, compared to Obama's newness in his job.
Meanwhile, Sleiman is talking with Turkish politicians about bilateral relations, as well as a possible shifts in the geopolitical situation, and specifically how engaged, and how positively, the US intends to be in the coming years. Sleiman cited Obama's recent appearance in Ankara, where he addressed the issue of Washington's relations with the Islamic world. Sleiman and his Turkish host, Abdullah Gul, also emphasized the importance of the Arab Peace Initiative of 2002. The two-state solution in Palestine and the Arab initiative were also at the center of talks between Obama and King Abdullah.
The centrality of this issue is clear, and it's a crucial one for countries like Lebanon and Jordan.
Lebanon is an arena for the Syrian-Israeli struggle, while Jordan has a similarly crucial role to play in the struggle between Israelis and Palestinians. One obviously hears about the needs of the principles in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, but both Lebanon and Jordan are in dire need of a solution as well, and a departure from "business as usual."
They aren't tiny countries anymore, with a combined population of around ten million people. More importantly, they are exporters of talent and expertise and with international economic worries added to the mix, they'd presumably be among the first countries to be squeezed in the event of further deterioration.
Both Lebanon and Jordan have a keen need to see the Palestinian question solved, since they'll be the first to benefit when a Palestinian state is finally established. In one sense, it will be "through" countries like Lebanon and Jordan that a Palestinian state will be born, since both have key roles to play in the process. And whether future developments are either negative or positive, the ramifications will appear in Lebanon and Jordan.
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