First session
Thank you very much Ambassador Wolfgang. I would like first of all to allow me to welcome all the guests who are represented here and we are very happy to have Doha Forum the 18th. edition with such distinguished audience and we welcome the contribution of everybody who is participating with us today and tomorrow. We believe that this is also serving as a platform for dialogue and for engagement. A platform that brings up some ideas. And maybe it won’t be adopted by some of the governments. But, at least, it will enlighten a lot of policy makers whenever they are thinking about reshaping their policy.
Ambassador Wolfgang, you were just mentioning the role of the big countries like China, Russia, USA and the change in dynamics in Europe and the EU. As a theme of this plenary, you mentioned that this is a global order be revisited. We believe that this is yes an order which is revisited; which is not something that is new to us. It’s a cycle which every few years or decades is being recycled. Just the time frame of these cycles has been shortened and this is given for multiple factors, but mainly if you think about the technology; the connectivity; the communication..it has been a major contributor to shorten these cycles of change. So, now the information doesn’t need days or months to reach from China to the USA. It just needs a part of a second; microseconds. So, we believe that this is a main contributor for the change in the global order and for the change of the view of the countries and shaping their alliances.
When you also refer to how regional alliances are now replaced by cross continental alliances; this is very interesting point. Regional alliances are still valid and still very important because the regions are always sharing the same common concerns and common interests. They are sharing the common threat for their people and anything that’s harming any of the neighbors in the same region is a harm for other countries.
These alliances need to be revisited and this is where we can contribute. It’s not only contribution of big countries and super powers, but it’s a contribution also for all member states in the UN; all member states as part of the region. Our country, 20 to 30 years ago, was just a tip of a peninsula and most of the audience, specially from the west, may be they never heard about Qatar. 30 years later now everybody knows Qatar as a minaret of enlightenment in this region when we brought a new education system, a new way of conducting free media and free expression. When we brought those, all these new values to this region, this is something that Qatar was pioneer in.
Now, when you also think about Qatar as platform for energy and energy supplies for the world; we are blessed with resources, but we are also bringing light now from Japan to the UK. This is with clean energy with the supply of LNG.
If you will think about Somalia, it is a country which is suffering from a civil war. But, if you look at it in last couple of years, there is a leadership and determination to change the status quo over there and to bring peace and to provide development. Prime Minister, Hassan Khaire and President Formago, all of them came with a new vision of reforming their country, of reconstructing their country and even looking at reconstructing their human capital by bringing their diaspora back, trying to attract them, to attract those Somalian talents, great talents who are living outside to come and to contribute to their economy.
Romania was 20 to 30 years ago, if we look at it, was locked behind an iron curtain. Three weeks from now they are going to lead and shape the EU policy.
Ecuador, beside exporting their beautiful flowers and chocolates, their representative is now the president of the General Assembly. She is contributing in sustainable development goals and coming with an agenda that’s including what matters small states and to small countries and to make the UN relevant for them.
So, if you look at the players, they are different. If you look at the alliances, they are different. The close continental alliances are different too. What make those factors different?
We believe that our contribution, the way we can participate in shaping the future of those regional alliances, in shaping the way that the governance between the countries and the region, we need new arrangements in our region and all the regions and the cross continents that have full participation of countries that have full …..
Second session
Thank you very much. I hope I can cover all the questions but I know that we are running out of time just to I think quick comment one on the Middle East and the Arab peace initiative and the other one on the GCC agreement. I think these are all the more relevant to us here regarding the Arab peace initiative. This is an initiative which is supported by all the Arab countries, which is requiring the recognition of the state of Israel in exchange of them withdrawing from all the 1967 lines and territories of the Palestinian now since there is peace initiative being laid, there is no break through the negotiations. There is no any movement and this doesn't justify their Israelis actions against the Paris.
If people against the innocent people over there and also doesn't justify that some of the Arab countries, they go for the normalization before or overcoming the Palestinian issue. We believe that the pristine issue will remain at the center of the relation between any country in this region and Israel, despite the connections and the communications which is maybe happening right now between countries. We hope that will be used for the good of the peace process and will help in bringing peace at the end of the day, but the full normalization we don't see it. It will be fruitful unless we get what mention and Arab peace initiative. This is for the lasting peace for regarding the GCC and the way how is this Regional Alliance has been undermined by this crisis. This is something we totally agree with.
That's why when we mentioned about Regional alliances here that these Regional alliances needs to be reshaped and to be redesigned that any or governance principles need to be and put in a place. There's a full participation of all members in shaping this governance structure and should be a binding structure for all the countries today GCC and the Secretariat of the GCC. They have no teeth. They have nothing. They don't know how to resolve an issue. They don't they have mechanisms in a place. They never trigger this mechanism because some countries they believe they are those are non-binding mechanisms for them. But we need to make sure that all the rules and principles that we are submitting to that is pointing to everybody in this region and should have a clear dispute resolution mechanism to be put in a place that all the results will be binding to hold all the countries accountable for anything.