ABU DHABI // Resolving conflicts in Syria, Yemen, Libya and Iraq is imperative for the future of the Middle East and North Africa, says Saudi prince Turki Al Faisal Al Saud.
The chairman of the King Faisal Centre for Research and Islamic Studies spoke on Sunday about the policy recommendations from the Beirut Institute Summit, which took place in Abu Dhabi last October.
Prince Turki said building a regional security system, tackling Israeli oppression of Palestinians and the enmity between Saudi Arabia and Iran were important to regional stability.
“There has been an excess of talk and lack of action,” said the prince, a co-chairman of the summit.
“This is the reality in the Arab world, and we hope that the recommendations we are releasing today will lead to real, substantive, visible action.”
Prince Turki said conflicts in the four countries were the greatest cause of suffering and instability in the Middle East.
“De-escalating these conflicts is both a moral and strategic imperative,” he said. “A rapid reduction of violence is a key condition for meaningful progress on the critical political, economic and social fronts.”
Raghida Dergham, founder of the summit, said the recommendations were aimed at defining the region’s future.
“They are the beginning of our journey,” she said. “They are clear, defined and will be delivered to the private and public sectors, students, youth, academia and decision makers to define the track of the region in the best interests of everyone.
“They will urge us to think in non-traditional ways.”
Prince Turki said all the problems in the Middle East were connected to the “Palestinian question”.
“It [peace for Palestine] will not stop terrorism but it will definitely take a load off our backs that is very much weighing on our ability to deal with these other matters,” Prince Turki said.
“As for Iran, the ball is in [Tehran’s] court. Saudi Arabia has expressed publicly that Iran’s interference in the affairs of Arab states is unacceptable. [Iranians] not only declare [this] but they somehow seem to be proud of that and that is a point of contention that needs to be gotten over if we expect the kind of engagement that will be helpful to both of them.”
Women’s empowerment was also high on the agenda.
“It is time women had the right and means to not only equal engagement with their male counterparts in society but to lead in many issues,” Prince Turki said. “Women have a special talent for dealing with difficult situations, especially when it comes to issues of terrorism and other social malpractices and diseases.
“They can focus on what is substantive quicker and more urgently than perhaps their male counterparts can, so empowering them should also be not a matter of the male counterpart giving them something, but it has to come from them [women], too.
“They have the need and requirement to challenge the malpractices and oppression that has been practised on them throughout history.”
Economic growth was also found to be the root cause of many vital regional issues.
Rudolph Lohmeyer, director of the global business policy council at management consultancy A T Kearney, said: “We shouldn’t wait for the security environment to be finalised before work begins on economic initiatives.
“We’ve got to reverse this negative spiral we’re facing. We must stop the bleeding then we must reverse it in a positive direction. Integration, innovation and inclusion are crucial as well as establishing a true Arab common market by 2020.”
Mr Lohmeyer said the need for a radically-improved environment for entrepreneurship was urgent, as was increased investment in research and development.
“We must also create science-based business accelerators to be networked for the benefit of the entire region,” he said. “These recommendations support the vision for an Arab world that is integrated, innovative and has inclusive growth. We must have shared prosperity in the region and harness the diversity of its people and economies.”
cmalek@thenational.ae
