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Arab leaders meeting at a summit next month in Tunis will study US and European initiatives to introduce democracy to the region, despite some misgivings over these plans, an Arab official said yesterday.

"These initiatives and ideas will certainly be on the agenda of the summit" scheduled for the end of March in Tunis, Hesham Yussef, a senior official at the Arab League, said.

The different initiatives will be "evaluated" by leaders of the 22 member-Arab League, according to Yussef, the director of the league's secretary general Amr Mussa.

However, "any initiative or idea imported and proposed from outside without consultations" with the concerned countries "will not succeed," Yussef said.

"The ability of (outsiders) to impose change depends on the behaviour of the concerned countries," Yussef said, adding the Arabs could welcome the US and European plans "if they are consulted on and included in" the drafting process.

Arab countries have reservations and questions about the Western ideas, Yussef said.

"Where are certain political issues, such as the Palestinian cause, in relation to these initiatives and visions".

"To speak of any initiative or vision, which ignores or relegates the Palestinian cause and security issues is unacceptable," Yussef said.

"It is impossible to discuss security questions without speaking of Israeli weapons of mass destruction," he said.

Before the G-8 summit of industrialized countries in June, the US government is preparing to present an initiative for the Middle East aimed at promoting democracy in the region and concluding security agreements with Arab countries.

On February 7, German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer proposed a new transatlantic initiative to foster prosperity in the Middle East and cut terrorism off at its roots.

"Security is a broader concept. Social development and democracy ... are just as important," Fischer said. – Sapa-AFP.

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