MANAMA, Nov 12: A Middle East reform conference promoted by the United States ended in confusion on Saturday without a final declaration after Egypt tried to introduce language which Washington said would restrict aid groups.

In a result US officials called disappointing, the conference ended with no final document on promoting political and economic reform in the Middle East and North Africa, the goal of the meeting.

“Obviously we are not pleased,” said a senior State Department official at the conclusion of the ‘Forum for the Future’ meeting.

Egypt gets about $2 billion in aid every year from the United States and while their move to block a document would not affect this aid, US officials said their action was ‘very curious’.

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) were also angry.

“The Egyptians are always the problem with democracy ... they are the ones who spoiled the final democracy document by holding out,” said Saadeddin Ibrahim, an Egyptian rights campaigner.

The Egyptian delegation was not immediately available to comment, but a Gulf diplomat said other Arab countries also had reservations about the document and Egypt was not alone.

According to a draft copy of the final declaration, delegates would have pledged ‘to expand democratic practices, to enlarge participation in political and public life (and) to foster the roles of civil society including NGOs’.

Egypt wanted to add that only NGOs ‘legally registered’ by a country and which followed that nation’s laws should be helped.

“It would have made them susceptible to government influence and pressure,” said the US official.

UNANIMITY ELUSIVE: Host country Bahrain wanted the document to be unanimous and the Americans said all the other delegations had agreed to drop reference to NGOs, but Egypt refused.