Obama Says Development Key to Strengthening Democracy Movements

President Barack Obama said economic development must follow political reforms in the Middle East and North Africa, promising aid for Egypt and Tunisia while warning leaders in other countries that repression ultimately will prove to be a losing strategy.

“Just as democratic revolutions can be triggered by a lack of individual opportunity, successful democratic transitions depend upon an expansion of growth and broad-based prosperity,” Obama said in a speech at the State Department in Washington intended to define the U.S. role in promoting freedom and economic opportunity in the region.