وقد قُطعت خطوات واسعة في الشرق الأوسط هذا العام؛ فالبحرين عمدت إلى التنفيذ السلمي لبرنامجها في الليبرالية الذي هو ميثاق عملها الوطني.
Great strides had been made that year in the Middle East; Bahrain, with its peaceful implementation of the liberalization programme that was its National Action Charter and, together with Qatar, Jordan and Morocco, had elevated women to the Cabinet and city councils in local and national elections.