Ambassador Karim Kawar |
By Kevin Lambert
Karim Kawar, Jordan’s ambassador to the United
States since September 25, 2002, is a large, friendly
man who traveled to his post in an unusual way.
Like Chester Bowles, he was not a professional or
trained diplomat, but a hugely successful businessman,
the first Jordanian non-diplomat to attain such
a position. A native of Amman, with a degree from
Boston College, Ambassador Kawar set up his first
company at the age of 20. He went on to start seven
companies in Jordan, especially in the IT field,
an industry that he helped launch countrywide. Mr.
Kawar aims to promote Jordan as a high-tech center
and investment hub in the Middle East. He started
on that road in 1999, receiving a royal appointment
to the Economic Consultative Council, to advise
Jordan’s monarch on economic issues.
Among his other credits, Ambassador Kawar served
on the Jordan River Foundation, chaired by Her Majesty
Queen Rania.
The foundation empowers women and works to prevent
child abuse. He is also an Eisenhower Fellow, having
been selected for a program that unites emerging
world leaders to create "a network where dialogue,
understanding, and collaboration lead to a more
prosperous, just, and peaceful world."
A conversation with Ambassador Kawar will naturally
draw heavily on the economic realities of the region.
"I have been honored to be chosen for this
post, and one cannot escape from diplomacy, but
I think the idea has been to capitalize on the free
trade agreement between Jordan and United States.
We want to move from Aid to Trade. What attracted
me most was the challenge to make a difference.
And the support I have received has allowed me to
do that."
"You cannot have trade without diplomacy without
the right relationships. Trade will further strengthen
relationships between nations, like Europe."
Ambassador Kawar describes his job as the "representative
of His Majesty’s government. My job is to strengthen
the bilateral relations between Jordan and the United
States, not only politically but also culturally
and economically. We have focused our relations
over the past four years to ensure that our relations
are always at their best."
Right now, he says, they are "great. King Abdullah
II is one of the foremost leaders in the Arab world,
he represents the voice of reason in our region."
Jordan is in the middle of a welter of reforms,
of every conceivable kind. Political and economic
reforms "go hand in hand. His Majesty King
Abdullah II ascended in 1999 with a fresh look.
If Jordan is to prosper and thrive we need to focus
on education and then economic reforms. We have
had several initiatives," (The first was the
Economic Consultative Council that he himself chaired)
and the most recent was the national agenda, which
is still being implemented. This is a home grown
ten year, ten point manifesto encompassing such
reforms as investment development, social welfare,
the independence of the judiciary and the role of
women." Being a relatively poor Gulf state,
they have to try harder. "We have no oil but
we have the political will."
Jordan is not an oil producing state of any consequence,
but true to traditional Arab hospitality, over a
million Palestinian refugees from Palestine, and
hundreds of thousands from Iraq have found a safe
haven there, and the government is making no moves
to send them back. "All refugees, of course,
are a burden on our resources, but Jordan has always
shouldered the burdens of our neighboring states.
By Arab and Jordanian tradition, we always welcome
strangers." And in this case, "we recognize
the pressure that they’re under."
Even with the influx of refugees draining resources
and no oil money to replenish them, Jordan’s
economy grew by 7.7% last year, well above the generally
expected rate. Ambassador Kawar, an unabashed free
market champion, credits, among other things, the
massive privatization that has been taking place
since the early '90s.
"When His Majesty King Abdullah II ascended
the throne he turned to the private sector and said,
‘What can we do to transform the country? We
said we need to accede to WTO, and we need a free
trade agreement with US. That entailed liberalizing
a lot of our government-owned companies, which was
a great success, especially in telecommunications."
Indeed, the subscriber market increased tenfold
in five years. "When Bahrain wanted to liberalize
their sector, they did not draw on the FCC, which
would have been overkill. They took the Jordanian
example."
Jordan sees itself as a springboard for companies
who want to trade in the region, and Ambassador
Kawar is doing all he can to promote that idea.
As one of the safest and reasonable places to work,
an incoming company can feel a far greater sense
of security than in other countries. Once the water
is tested, the forces of commerce will go into action,
and people in neighboring countries, bound by the
same forces, will hear of the presence and send
out their own feelers. This could have immense consequences
in a region projected to have 600 million consumers
by 2020.
Jordan has established the Akwara Free trade zone,
which will have several advantages over your everyday
free trade zone. It will be located in a hub of
shipping and air transport, and the setting itself,
unlike the normal ex-bean fields that so many free
trade zones end up in, is in fact a tourist center.
A beautiful port city with all the amenities, it
boasts competence, infrastructure and a worthwhile
lifestyle. "It is quite tempting. Aqaba is
a multi-modal hub, and has developed into a logistical
center. But since it is our only access to the Red
Sea we have seen a thriving tourist industry as
well." It is also a key port for the reconstruction
of Iraq, in which Jordanian companies are playing
a large part. "Our structure and technology
allow businesses to cut through red tape and to
establish their firms in record time. The idea is
that you are there to serve those businesses to
get them running quickly and that their operations
are successful."
Other countries have followed the Jordanian model.
"We have always been instructed by His Majesty
King Abdullah II to share our experience with the
whole region. Many countries in the region have
drawn on Jordan’s experience. Jordan has been
a model in intellectual property, when the World
Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) goes around
the region, they refer to Jordan as the model."
His Majesty King Abdullah II subscribes to John
F. Kennedy’s notion that "if you raise
the level in the water, all the boats will rise.
Jordan today can only develop so much on its own
in the region without the whole region moving forward."
Another Jordanian first is the Jordan Education
Initiative, which has been adapted by Bahrain Egypt
and India and the Palestinian territories. Jordan
is trying to show the other countries in the region
– and their high GDP growth helps to get this
across – that the Jordanian model could be
successfully adapted by all.
Asked if he sees the ascendancy of a moderate Arab
bloc as the wave of the future, Ambassador Kawar
nods. "First and foremost, when you ask the
people of our region, their first priority is their
economic well-being. They want better lives and
those better lives come through better jobs and
better pay. Where there is no hope, people turn
to extremes. In Jordan the extremists, luckily,
are only a very small minority within our society."
Karim Kawar is a man who may be remembered as one
who helped clear out the underbrush of the region’s
sleepy economy and opened the way for a style of
life that could benefit millions and inch the world
along to peace. And he will do it through his love
of his country. "Jordan," Ambassador Kawar
says, "holds a promise for the region. It is
a country nation and a people to invest in. Jordan
provides hope for the region as a whole, and it
is worthwhile considering for those who want to
see beyond the regions."
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